Simplest Simplicities
by Unwritten Whispers
Summary: 2 years after the war, Draco's been found by vengeful Death Eaters and his muggle wife travels back to 5th year to help Harry destroy Voldemort before the end of the year. With help from the Order, Tonya Malfoy is on a mission to save Draco and everyone else, but soon Draco gets memories of a future that hasn't happened yet. Who's that woman and why is she wearing the Malfoy ring?
1. Gruesome Surprises

**Disclaimer: All characters are owned by JK Rowling, except for Tonya. Although if Miss Rowling wanted credit for her, I would be more than willing to sign her over. In trade for Draco Malfoy of course. (;**

Gruesome Surprises

"Babe," twenty year old Tonya Malfoy entered the tiny one bedroom apartment that she shared with her husband of only one year. Her lips always curled into a giddy smile as she thought of that word, _husband,_ and he still made her heart thump in uncontrollable speeds when he looked her way. "Did you pick up the milk on your way home from work like I texted you?"

_Texting;_ she scoffed, waiting for his smirky reply. Texting was something he absolutely hated to do. _It's a muggle's lazy way of communicating,_ he always complained. Muggle; her head shook, and she chuckled to herself as she thought about it. She met him when he was only eighteen years old: bruised, bleeding, cut, torn, and near death. At eighteen years old she had been scared out of her mind – never before had she seen something so frightening, something so… so… so horrendous. Shuddering as she remembered the state she had met him in, she smiled back to the day he told her he loved her.

It was an odd day. Only three months after they had met. She knew he was a wizard – although, admittingly, she first thought that he had hit his head too hard in whatever battle he had just been in; he explained to her about a war… something about an evil dark wizard named Lord Voldemort who had tried to kill a boy named Harry Potter. He told her stories about a school called Hogwarts, and he explained his whole life story to her. She stared at him with widened eyes, and wanted to laugh in his face. But his eyes… his eyes were what stopped her. So much pain mixed in with so much fear. He seemed so vulnerable that she found her eyes watering.

Now here they were. Two years later; happily married and living a life that his former enemies had never thought possible – the second the war had ended, Draco Malfoy disapparated to America. He didn't have to hide because the war had ended, but he didn't want to see anyone he knew from his past. He met an American muggle – eighteen year old Tonya Bruhn. The golden trio was beyond shocked when they found out. Now that had been a funny day…

_"Draco," she giggled. They were sitting against each other at a little table in a coffee shop. His fingers were gently circling her knee, occasionally pinching it every now and then. "Draco, stop that!"_

_Grinning against his girlfriend's ear, Draco whispered, knowing how much his breath usually caused bumps to take over her skin. "If you want me to stop then why are you giggling?" this time was no different. A smug grin took over his ghostly pale skin as he felt her body shiver under his fingertips._

_ "We are in a coffee shop," she reminded him, trying to ignore the flame burning in the pit of her stomach at the movements. _

_ "I know, love!"_

_ "Draco!" she hissed at him. He was being really unfair right now. He already knew she had a weakness for his British accent; which she was so fond of, that she would ask him to talk to her until she fell asleep. But for him to call her _love_; something she knew all British guys called their girlfriends, but found the way he used it to set her insides into a complete meltdown mode – this just wasn't fair._

_ "Fine," he chuckled, knowing the effect his pet name for her had. "Fine alright Tonya. You win! I won't caress you under the table in a public coffee shop."_

_ Eyeing him suspiciously, Tonya simply just picked up her iced vanilla latte, and nodded her head. "Thank you."_

_ Draco couldn't help but to grin at her. When they first met, he had appeared out of nowhere near his death, and she turned the corner. Freaking out, like she tends to do a lot, she tried to call for help, but he stopped her. He didn't want the muggle police to find him in such a state. They would want to know his name, and he was too weak to confound anyone. So instead she took him back to her apartment, and tried her best to heal him on her own. It took a whole month for him to heal, and another two months for him to admit how much he loved her. She was different the muggle-borns he was forced to go to school with. She didn't judge him for being a Death Eater; even after he explained what that was to her, and she didn't turn him away for being a Malfoy. He told her about everything he and his family had done, but she still loved him back._

_ Now here they were six months after meeting. Neither of them had any idea that in exactly four months from now, they would be married. Something neither of them would ever regret. Soft blue eyes met icy grey. He always teased her that her eyes made her look like she was always lost in a day dream somewhere, but she always only smiled, kissed him softly, and told him that she prayed she never woke up. She was nothing like the girls his mother had always wanted him to be with. Or his father. Both his parents wanted him to marry Pansy Parkinson, but three quarters of Hogwarts had her. Not to mention, she resembled a pig nosed pug; reminding him of an ugly mutt that walked into a door, smashing up its face._

_ Tonya was different in her own sense. Her hair was naturally supposed to be black, but like most muggle girls, she put in streaks of different colors. Whereas most girls added in streaks of gold she added in gold, white, caramel, and teal. It was the teal that always threw him off. Whereas most muggles with her hair style – the odd colors, and reaching just below her shoulders – would have more than one piercing, she simply enjoyed having just one tiny sun yellow diamond in each ear. She did however fancy other parts of her body to be pierced, such as: a tiny hoop in her nose, a ball in her tongue, and a simple diamond in her navel. Sitting on her lower stomach, she had the muggle Hello Kitty icon, along with a couple of stars right behind her right ear. She preferred comfortable clothing to what society would prefer a young beautiful girl her age to wear. Such as today, she wore simple black colored rubber slippers, simple blue jean shorts, and a simple plain black t-shirt; his t-shirt nonetheless. She was the simplest girl he had ever met, but she was nothing near just simple. He was a Malfoy, and Malfoys didn't fall in love with simple._

_ "What are you thinking of?" the soft yet silky voice entered his mind, pulling Draco out of what he knew would be another mind battle against himself._

_ Smiling, he placed his lips on the deep sunken in dimples that laughed at the corner of her mouth. "How much I love you."_

_ Blushing, Tonya felt the butterflies in her stomach trying to force their way out of her stomach, so they could kiss the handsome British wizard she loved so much. "I love you too."_

_ At eighteen years old you shouldn't know what love is, especially when you've only known them for six months. Even more so when you meet them right after they tried to kill thousands of people, or were currently in hiding from their ex-friends who wanted to kill them for betraying a psychotic dark wizard who was now supposed to be dead. Love wasn't a word you should speak, or a feeling you should know. Love shouldn't be a thought that haunts your every breath. When you're eighteen years old, love shouldn't even be in your vocabulary. But she loved him. With everything she had to offer, which of course wasn't much._

_ After she got to know Draco she learned that he was very wealthy; one of the richest wizarding families in the entire wizarding world. It shamed her. Not just in the beginning, but even now. She didn't have as much as he did. Draco grew up in a mansion, and she grew up in a tiny two bedroom house. Draco had money thrown at him to grant his every wish from the day he was born, and she's been working from when she was only fourteen, just to help her parents pay the bills. Draco would never have to work a day in his life, and she was working two jobs. Malfoy Manor would be his once his parents died, and she was living in a rented tiny rundown, broken one bedroom apartment, with water that was never hot, and lights that always flickered. Draco had everything in the world, and she had nothing to give him. Besides her love._

_ All her life, Tonya had been known as the girl who couldn't keep a relationship – or even a guy in general. They would always get what they want from her then leave the next morning. From what Draco told her, he was also that type of guy. Not the one who would be left of course, but the guy who would take what he wants then forget the girls' names the next morning. In the beginning she was scared that he would do that to her. Her heart felt funny the night she found him bleeding on the streets; a feeling she had never known before, and she was scared that he would take what he wanted from her then leave. But it never happened. He took what he wanted every morning, and every night. And occasionally every moment in between, but not once had he left her. In the nights she would always be too nervous to wake up the next morning, fearing that he would be gone. But once her sleep leaves her, she would feel his arms wrapped tightly around her before her eyes even fluttered open. And he's always smiling down at her, telling her how much he loves her peaceful state when she's asleep. He continues to remind her how much he could just hold her in his arms, and watch her sleep for eternity. Some nights he doesn't sleep at all; he just watches her. It was hard to believe that he loved her as much as she loved him. Especially since they've only known each other for six simple months._

_ And it didn't help that Draco Malfoy was anything but simple. He was the type she never saw herself with for so long; the bad boy type with the bad reputation. But unlike all the bad boys she had ever known, he was more pure. Minus, of course, the people he had killed, the curses he had flown, and the things he had seen, and done, but other than that… he was pure. His virgin ears remained untouched, while his snow white hair hung over his eyes – she often teased Draco that it was his hair that made him seem dangerous. When he threatened to cut it though, she immediately stopped. Tonya loved running her fingers through his hair, and watching the way his lips would part as she did so. He claimed that only she could take his breath away with such a simple touch. His skin was as pale as a ghost; although she had never really seen a ghost, and couldn't compare it, he promised her that the ghosts he knew were almost the same color as him; pale to the point of being practically translucent. His eyes were no longer sunken in, so his pointed face stood out beautifully in a crowd. Because he was no longer living in the wizarding world, and she had assured him that she loved his death mark so he didn't have to hide it anymore, Draco would always wear short sleeved shirts, hugging his chest tightly to show off the eight creases hidden beneath it, along with his bulging muscles. He played something called Quidditch, which had helped with that – something Tonya thanked god for every day. His death mark was simply passed off as a tattoo, and a very hot, dangerous tattoo at that. On the inside of his left forearm he had an upside down snake, curled into itself with a skull as its tail. _

_ "You're staring again," Draco teased her._

_ Grinning, Tonya wouldn't allow herself to be embarrassed for being caught staring. "Well it's mine to stare at."_

_ Chuckling, Draco shook his head knowing full and well what his flying hair was doing to his girlfriend. She actually cried when he threatened to cut his hair. Her obsession was guys with long hair. "And you get all pissy with me whenever I say that you belong to-" he cut off._

_ Seeing the fear in his eyes, Tonya turned around; curious as to what could scare Draco Malfoy. "What is it babe?" she asked him._

_ His eyes landed on them; four of them. What the bloody hell are they doing here? Their eyes stayed focused on him as well, just as confused as he was. Possibly even more so… he could practically read their minds… what the bloody hell is Draco Malfoy doing in California, sitting in a muggle coffee shop, linking his fingers in with a muggle? Nervously glancing over at Tonya, he saw she was quick to recognize the four of them. He had to chuckle at that. He's described them to her only once, although he spoke of them a lot in his stories of his past. She was always reminding him of Granger in a way though; in a smart-bookish type of way._

_ Tonya instantly recognized who they were. Why Draco feared them right now… she was confused. But she knew who they were. Emerald eyes behind circled glasses, unruly ebony hair, a lightning bolt scar on his forehead; Harry Potter. Ocean blue eyes, copper hair, freckles; Ron Weasley. Caramel eyes, curled caramel hair; Hermione Granger. Cinnamon hair, sky blue eyes, freckles; Ginny Weasley. She saw that Harry and Ginny were holding hands; while Hermione and Ron did the same. _

_ "Is that… is that Malfoy?" choked out Ron._

_ Nodding her head, Ginny started walking over towards them. "Let's say hi."_

_ "Ginny," Harry yanked her back. "What are you doing?"_

_ "What?" she asked, pulling her hand away from Harry's before rolling her eyes, "Oh c'mon you guys. The war is over, and he helped us in the end… remember?"_

_ "What are they doing?" his voice came out more in a squeak then he had planned it to._

_ Gently nudging his leg with her own leg, Tonya gave Draco a stern look, "Be nice Draco."_

_ "Hullo Malfoy," Ginny smiled politely as she approached them._

_ Scared to disobey his muggle girlfriend, Draco politely nodded his head, and smiled back. Yes; smiled. Not smirked. "Weasley," then nodding his head over at the golden trio who looked as if they were waiting for him to do something illegal, he smiled again, "Potter, Granger, Weasley."_

_ "Granger?" Hermione choked out in shock. He wasn't calling her Mudblood?_

_ Noting the fear in Hermione's eyes, Tonya's own eyes moved over to the girl's forearm. The words that Draco's psychotic aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange, carved into her were still there. "Would you guys like to sit with us?" she offered, quickly moving her eyes away._

_ "Thank you," Ginny beamed, instantly taking the seat nearest to the kind girl who just offered them to sit. "I'm Ginny Weasley by the way."_

_ "Oh," Draco said, remembering that they had no idea who the American girl holding his hand was. "Right, sorry. This is Tonya Bruhn. Love, this is Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger."_

_ "You're American," Hermione noted, taking the seat next to Ginny; leaving Harry and Ron to figure out which one of them would sit next to Draco._

_ "Yep," Tonya grinned, nodding her head. "Born and raised in California all my life. What brings you four to America?" she decided to ask. _

_ There was suddenly a tension in the air as the four friends began to sort of shift around, unsure of what to say. "Well…" Harry spoke up, taking his role as leader, "We… umm… well see I'm a cop like, and well…"_

_ "Cop?" she cocked a confused eyebrow. "Oh! You mean you're an Auror?"_

_ Turning a bright shade of red, Harry nodded his head, "Yes."_

_ "You know of Aurors?" Hermione gasped then turned to Draco. "You told her about our world?"_

_ "She found me after the war," Draco nodded his head, already not liking where this was going._

_ "Babe," Tonya said, turning all her attention onto Draco, "Since they're still new to here, why don't you go up and order them some drinks?"_

_ Nodding his head, Draco jumped to his feet, "Anything specific?"_

_ Shocked that Malfoy was taking orders from a muggle without any hesitation, nobody said anything for a couple of moments. Finally, Ginny spoke up. "I'll go with you."_

_ "Gin!" Harry gave her a hard glare._

_ Rolling her eyes, Ginny kissed her boyfriend's cheek. "I'll be fine."_

_ Tonya gave Draco a head nod when he gave her a nervous glance. She wanted him to know that everything would be okay. After sighing, he allowed Ginny to link arms with him; confusing the golden trio, and himself, but he allowed it, and led her up to the line. Tonya looked around the table, and sighed at the scared glances the trio kept shooting at Draco and Ginny. She instantly liked Ginny; she was quick to accept the new Draco, before she even met him, but these three didn't even bother to hide their fear._

_ "He's not the same Draco," she said, breaking the awkward silence. "He told me everything. I'm sorry for your losses by the way."_

_ "Thanks," said a glum Ron. _

_ "What do you mean he told you everything?" asked Harry._

_ It was Hermione who asked, "What did he mean when he said you found him?"_

_ "The day of the war," she started to explain. "I was walking home from work, and I heard this weird crackling sound. When I turned the corner I saw him lying there. He was almost dead-" shaking her head as the images returned, they all saw the way she winced as if in pain, "-Anyways, I found him right after the war. I took him home, and tried to clean him up. He refused to go to a hospital. Over the month of him healing, he would tell me about his life: being a Malfoy, being the son of a Death Eater, being a Death Eater, being a pureblood, the expected hatred towards muggles, and everything in between. He explained about Voldemort-" she saw the way they all flinched when she mentioned his name. Weren't they supposed to be the ones who never feared him? "And everything else. I know everything."_

_ "So you know what he's done then?" questioned a confused Harry. This girl spoke like their world was nothing. Like Malfoy being a Malfoy was okay to her._

_ Nodding her head, Tonya took a sip of her drink, "Every torturing curse he's ever casted, every dark thought he's ever thought, every bad word he's ever spoken, every hex he ever flew, every person he's tormented, and everything else. I know it all."_

_ "And… and you're okay with it?" Hermione couldn't believe what she was hearing._

_ Tonya sighed now. "Do I look like a witch? Do I look like I have a wand on me? Do I look like some American version of a Death Eater?"_

_ "Err no."_

_ "N-no."_

_ "Absolutely not."_

_ "If Draco wasn't one of the good guys, would he be sitting in an American coffee shop with me right now? Let alone an American muggle coffee shop? Drinking coffee? Holding my hand? Laughing? And would he have been so quick to jump to his feet and buy you guys a coffee or accept Ginny's arm? If he was the same Draco you guys remembered, would he be smiling right now?"_

_ "I like her," Ginny smiled at Draco. She linked her arm in with his out of habit; something she always did with one of her own friends. She hadn't meant to do it, but once she did she expected him to shove her off of him. He shocked her when he accepted it though, and walked on as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Your girlfriend, I like her. How long have you two been together?"_

_ "Umm we've known each other for six months, but we've been dating for three."_

_ "Well I like her."_

_ "Thanks."_

_ Peeking over at his face, she saw him smile again. "Why didn't you ever do that in school?" she asked him. _

_ "Do what?" Draco was confused. Then again the youngest Weasley always reminded him of a more vicious version of Luna Lovegood._

_ Chuckling, Ginny bared her teeth at him in an extremely wide grin, "Smile. You always had that smirk thing going, or a grunt. I've never seen you smile. Or laugh actually."_

_ "Oh," shrugging his shoulders, he watched the line shorten. There was only one person in front of them now. "I guess I never really had a reason to smile before."_

_ Nodding her head, Ginny understood what he meant. Well not really, she's always had a reason to smile, but she knew what he was implying. "I never got to thank you by the way."_

_ "For what?"_

_ "The war."_

_ Stepping up to the counter, Draco gave Ginny an odd look. She couldn't have possibly known… could she? He made sure that nobody saw him return. "What do you guys like to drink?" he asked her._

_ "Ron and Harry will only drink black coffee," Ginny shuddered as if the thought offended her, "And Hermione and I aren't picky. As long as it's not black, and it's coffee."_

_ Chuckling, he nodded his head. Smiling up at the barista, Draco ordered the drinks. "Can I get two black coffees, and two iced vanilla lattes?"_

_ Looking past Draco, and at the table that Tonya was now laughing at with the golden trio, the brown eyed teenager grinned. "Tonya looks like she's getting comfortable, Draco. You sure you don't want to get her one more as well?"_

_ "True," he said, not even bothering to think about it. Her coffee had almost been empty to begin with. "Might as well make that three, then."_

_ "And you want your regular as well?"_

_ "Thanks Billy," Draco grinned. Throwing the American money down on the counter, he led Ginny towards the corner, where they would now wait for their drinks._

_ "You come here a lot do you?" Ginny had never been so amazed before in her life. The guy behind the counter knew Draco's name, and Tonya's; it seemed almost like they came here all the time. He knew what they liked to drink._

_ Nodding his head, Draco smirked. "Every bloody day; coffee is her addiction. Now about the war… what did I do?"_

_ "I saw you," she rolled her eyes. "After you guys ran away. Everyone was shouting about how the Malfoys ran out during the battle – once Harry revealed himself to be alive – which is really smart on Narcissa's part, especially since she lied about Harry being dead. The Death Eaters were searching for you three to kill. But then I saw you. Just as Nott was about to kill me, you killed him."_

_ What did she just say? "What did you just say? My mum lied to Voldemort about Potter being dead? When did that happen?"_

_ "When Harry gave himself up to Voldemort," Ginny's eyes went wide. "You didn't know?"_

_ Shaking his head, Draco rubbed his forehead. "Once we returned back to the manor, I left and went back. It didn't feel right… leaving everyone behind. I had to do something. They didn't even know that I left. Once Voldemort was dead though, I left for good. I haven't seen anyone since, including my parents. I didn't know she lied for Potter. Is that why Voldemort thought Potter was dead when he returned to the school?"_

_ "She lied for you," Ginny explained to him. She pitied him now. He didn't speak to his parents? He came straight to America right after the war? No wonder everyone thought he was dead. "Voldemort did kill Harry, but he came back to life – it's complicated, please don't make me explain – then Narcissa volunteered to check on him. She saw that Harry was still alive, and whispered to him. She asked if you were still alive, and he told her yes. He just saved you in the Room of Requirements by the way. So she lied to Voldemort, and told him that Harry was dead. She switched sides right then."_

_ "She what?" his eyes were huge. Narcissa Malfoy? His mum? She was on the lights' side? _

_ "It spared her from going to Azkaban," Ginny continued on, saddened by the idea of never really knowing your parents. "Harry vouched for her. Lucius was spared too. Something about him saving McGonagall-" when she saw Draco begin to choke on air, she shook her head, "- don't ask. But yeah, your parents are out. We all thought you died, to tell the truth. You disappeared, and when nobody could find you for four months, everyone just thought the worst. Both your mum and dad are going crazy, you know. They still ask for help in searching for you every now and then."_

_ Draco's eyes didn't even water. He missed his parents. Both of them actually; he really did, but he was happy now - something he had never been in all his eighteen years of living with his parents or being at Hogwarts. "They wouldn't approve of Tonya," he shook his head. "I'm fine now."_

"Draco!" Tonya shouted once more, realizing that there was no milk in the refrigerator. "Babe!" she was annoyed. He knew why she wanted the milk; it was to make his favorite cake for him. He had just gotten that promotion at his job, and they were supposed to celebrate. "Harry them will be here soon. And I can't make the cake without milk," when he still didn't reply, she rolled her eyes, walking towards their shared tiny bedroom. "Fine, I'll call Blaise then. Seamus always remembers the-"

Letting out a piercing scream, Tonya's eyes were already flooding the blood painted floor. Screaming his name over and over again, she couldn't move from her spot. Blood was everywhere. So much blood. He was wearing only his boxers; showing that he just got out of the shower, but he was drenched in his own dried up blood. His chest was ripped open, as if somebody sliced him repeatedly. There was just so much blood. His eyes; now lifeless were staring up at the ceiling, tears staining the corners, showing that he cried while he was murdered. She continued to scream his name over and over again. Her tears now mixed in with the scarlet painted tiles, turning them a light ruby color. So much blood. Everywhere there was blood: blood on the walls, blood on the ceiling, blood on the floor, blood on the wall. Blood – everywhere.

Except for one place.

Draco's body had been drained completely of his blood.

**A/N: I'm sorry! I killed Draco :,( I know… I cried just while writing this chapter, but it gets happier. Not in the next couple of chapters, but overtime… I promise. If none of you had read any of my stories before, then yes… I am a huge Dramione fan, but I tend to write Draco with an OC. I promise you guys though; it does get better. Please review! I live on them. :3**


	2. Traveling Of The Hearts

Traveling of The Hearts

Stepping out from the fireplace, Harry had his wand already raised when he heard her screams. His grin immediately turned into a panicked scowl and he ran into the room. Stopping in his tracks, what he saw turned his stomach completely around. Feeling his Auror instincts kick in, Harry quickly ran out, searching the tiny apartment. It was cleared; the only people in it were Tonya and himself. Oh shit, Tonya! Running back into the room he saw her in the same position he found her in; standing at the doorway and screaming at Draco to wake up. Draco… Harry's eyes watered at his sight. It's been a year and a half since they found one another. Draco became a good friend of his – Ginny's best friend actually. The two of them were inseparable, while Tonya became immediately close to Seamus Finnigan and Blaise Zabini.

"Tonya," Harry said, wrapping his arms around the screaming and crying girl.

Noticing Harry for the first time, Tonya collapsed into his arms, "So much blood," she cried, "There's blood everywhere. Fix it Harry. Please, fix it."

Shaking his head Harry could feel his tears mix in with hers. "I'm s- I'm sorry Tonya. I can't. I can't fix this."

"But you have to," Tonya sobbed into his shoulders, not caring that she was soaking his work robes. "Harry, please… please. You have to fix this."

"I-I can't."

"D-Draco!" she shouted against her friend's shoulders now. "Draco! I-I'm sorry. I don't care about the milk. I'll buy you a cake. I'll borrow milk from the neighbors. Just please Draco. Please come back."

Harry, who was completely confused about everything Tonya was saying, allowed the girl to continue shouting into his ears. He knew that she needed to let it all out. Quietly leading her out into the living area, he doubted that she realized they were now sitting on the couch. He continued to hold her tightly in his arms as she continued to shout something about milk, stupid text messages, and cake. His mind was still stuck on the scene he had just witnessed. That was the work of Death Eaters, he knew that much. It sickened him, but he couldn't help but to feel hatred towards Draco. He warned him a couple months ago that this would happen.

_"Draco, mate," Harry said, stepping into the kitchen. Loud muggle music was playing through a large house shaped speaker system while laughter and chattering overtook it. Why the iPod was on, he didn't understand; not if they were only going to talk around it. When grey eyes met emerald, Harry pointed his chin towards the front door of the apartment. _

_ Nodding his head to show he understood, Draco released his hold on Tonya's waist, and kissed her cheek from behind. "I'll be right back."_

_ "Where are you-" noticing Harry for the first time, Tonya grinned, "Hey Harry, you're late you know. Ginny's in the bathroom right now."_

_ Chuckling, he nodded his head, "Sorry Tonya, I got held up at the office."_

_ Rolling his eyes, Draco's only friend from his past that he trusted; Blaise Zabini, pointed a finger at Harry. "Don't be bringing any of that work nonsense here, Harry. Today's all about leaving that bullshit behind."_

_ "Blaise Zabini," gasped Seamus Finnigan. _

_ Quickly turning around, the olive toned Italian blushed. "Love," he quickly stated, "I didn't see you there. I thought you were out on the patio with Ron?"_

_ The short, tanned Irish man turned shamrock colored eyes on jaded eyes. "So you swear while I'm not around then, do you?"_

_ Shaking his head at his best friend of twenty years, Draco made it clear that he wasn't about to get involved in one of their arguments. Draco made an appearance back into the wizarding world just a week after running into Ginny and the golden trio. He had helped them on their case, and brought in the Death Eater they were searching for. After reconciling with his parents and being shocked that they were both extremely quick to accept Tonya; Draco found a job at the Ministry alongside Harry and Ron. He ran into his best mate as well, Blaise Zabini._

_ Blaise Zabini was the only person that Draco had ever trusted throughout his life. They understood each other in ways that no one else ever could. Draco trusted him with the task Voldemort gave him, and Blaise trusted him with his relationship with Gryffindor's Seamus Finnigan. Blaise was thirteen when he realized he was gay, and Draco accepted him. He would often tease him about knowing Blaise was in love with him from time to time, but it was in a best friend sort of way. Blaise was fourteen when he realized he was in love with Seamus, and fifteen when he finally got him. Draco knew that the war had been the hardest on the both of them – pretending they hated each other while trying their hardest to protect the other throughout the entire battle. _

_ Blaise worked at the Ministry as well, but not as an Auror. He was a desk clerk for one of the Ministry puppets, but he loved his job. They ran into each other on Draco's first day. Blaise was hurt to know that Draco didn't trust him enough to let him know he was still alive, but once Draco explained the past six months to him, he was quick to forgive him. Come to find out, Seamus was an Auror as well and would be Draco's trainer for the first couple of weeks. Draco invited the couple over to dinner, and Tonya found her two new best friends. The three did everything together and never found a dull moment in their friendship. Draco was fine with that though, because he found a new best friend in Ginny as well. Something he thought only Blaise could ever be. He was friends with everyone else, but he and Ginny found a comfort in each other that they couldn't with the others._

_ They didn't love each other, nor would there ever be a chance they would cheat on or leave their significant others for each other – Draco and Tonya were already married at this point – but they were there for the other. Ginny always felt like a fourth wheel between the golden trio even though she was Ron's sister and engaged to Harry. Whereas, Draco never felt he belonged anywhere unless he was with Blaise or Tonya. But as they all became close, it was like everyone had their trios. Except for him and Ginny – he had Ginny, and Ginny had him. Everyone had their trio, while they had their duo. Ginny was the one who took him shopping to look for the engagement ring for Tonya in fact. Of course, the wedding ring was the Malfoy ring, but he went out and brought a muggle engagement ring that he had added into the Malfoy ring. He had never seen a ring look so beautiful in all his life until that moment, as ironic as it sounds. He thought his father was going to kill him right there for mixing something muggle with a pureblooded heirloom, but Lucius instead gave his blessings._

_ "What is it Harry?" Draco asked once they were standing far along the hallway. He thought Harry was being a little paranoid with their secrecy._

_ "I found some new information on the Death Eaters today," Harry whispered as if the walls would jump out and attack them. "Remember how once you came back in, we explained to you that a bunch of the Death Eaters just up and disappeared?"_

_ "Yeah," Draco scratched his head. This was nothing new. This is what he's been doing for the past year. Hunting down and killing rogue Death Eaters._

_ "Well," Harry leaned in closer to him. "I caught Yaxley today," giving Draco a couple seconds to get over the shock, he continued, "I questioned him before pushing him through the veil. They're after you Draco."_

_ "What?" _

_ Nodding his head, Harry scanned the halls, making sure that no one was watching them. "They all know that Narcissa lied to Voldemort about me being dead, but no one's stupid enough to go after her while she's still with Lucius. But they're pissed with you. Apparently Goyle saw you kill Nott when he tried to kill Ginny. When you disappeared after the war they searched for you while we were searching too. But like us, they figured you were dead; one of the undiscovered bodies, but once you surfaced they started plotting it."_

_ "They've had a year to kill me," Draco reminded Harry, "And it's not like Tonya and I live in America anymore either. They could find me easily. I'm not exactly hiding."_

_ Sighing, Harry pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just… be careful, Draco. Yaxley's one of the ones whose been killing off the ex-Death Eaters. His wand shows that he's the one who killed Flint."_

_ "Don't worry Harry," Draco assured him. "I'm always careful. But thanks for the warning. I'll be sure to keep an eye out. Oh, but can you do me a favor?"_

_ Already knowing what the favor was, Harry nodded his head, "Don't worry. I wouldn't want to be the one that Tonya finds this out from anyways. And according to Seamus, she doesn't know that ex-Death Eaters are being killed either."_

_ "Neither does Blaise, Hermione, or even Ginny," Draco reminded his friend. "We just don't need them to worry."_

"What was that?" Harry asked, jumping out of his memory. He thought he heard something about the Order.

Nodding her head, Tonya was still crying but no longer sobbing. She was also standing now. "It's simple. I'll just return to your guys' fifth year, right in the middle of it too. That way Sirius will still be alive, but you'll already know some of the secrets of the Order and whatnot."

Gasping, Harry was confused. He gasped because she wanted to go to the past, but he had no idea why. "Why would you do that?"

"Don't you get it," she started to pace now. Pacing was never good. Harry knew enough to know that pacing always meant that your plan involved something bad. "I'll go to the Order during one of your breaks from school. And I'll explain everything to them. I'll tell you how to kill Voldemort. He'll never expect it. I'll tell you where all the Horcruxes are, and I'll tell you how Snape is actually on your side because he loves your mom. It'll fix everything."

"How does me killing Voldemort in fifth year, and knowing that Snape loves my mum fix everything?" she lost it. She was mental now. They would have to place her into St. Mungos.

"Because no one will die," Tonya was crying even harder now, but still silently. "I know about the Death Eaters killing off ex-Death Eaters. Draco warned me about it a couple of nights ago, as if warning me this would happen. This was a Death Eater. They thought he was a traitor, right?" without pausing so Harry could speak, Tonya continued to pace while talking. It sounded as if she were in a deep rant with herself. "This way, you'll kill Voldemort before he can get into you – ahh dammit! He might see into your mind. No-" she laughed now, "Snape is teaching you – ahh well then again you did suck at it, but no… no you can't suck – Occlumency… it's simple. I'll just have Snape teach you even harder to block it out. Voldemort will never know I'm from the future. It's perfect. The Order can even go with you on your hunt. Then all you'll have to do is kill him at the Ministry-" she gasped now, "Its perfect. You have from the Christmas holidays until the end of the school year to prepare yourself and allow Voldemort to kill you."

It sounded brilliant actually, but Harry shook his head, "You can't go into the past and change things, Tonya."

"Why not?" she shouted at him. "Why the hell not, Harry? Sirius will be alive now. Along with Dumbledore, Mad Eye, Remus, Tonks, Fred, Lavender, Colin… everyone will be alive now."

"Along with Bellatrix, and all the other thousands of Death Eaters we managed to kill."

"I'll prepare you guys."

He understood why she wanted this, needed this, but there was still a flaw in her plan. "If you change the past," he spoke with a concerned tone, "Draco will never battle at Hogwarts, and you'll never meet him. He may not be known as a traitor, and he won't be killed, but you won't meet."

"But he'll be alive."

Harry knew what those tears in her eyes meant. She already knew this. She knew that going into the past would prevent them from meeting, and from falling in love. She knew the sacrifice she would be making. It hurt him. Did Draco understand how much Tonya loved him? She knows that she'll remember this. When she returns from the past, she'll remember everything. She'll have both lost Draco when he was murdered, and then again when he's alive and living in a future where he won't know she exists. Tonya loved Draco enough to lose him again.

"I can't let you do it," Harry shook his head. Tonya already lost Draco once. He couldn't allow her to lose her husband again. It made sense to him, but he couldn't allow her to do it.

"What if it was Ginny?" Tonya's tone was harsh now. "Huh Harry? What if it was Ginny that you came home to find dead? What if it was Ginny that you knew you could save?"

"I-it's different."

"How?" she shouted again. This time though she stopped pacing. She was now towering over him. "How the hell is this different. I love Draco. I came home and found him dead. His blood is painting our room, Harry! I just saw my husband's body completely drained of all his blood. The only difference is that Draco's dead and Ginny's alive. That's the only fucking difference."

Sighing, Harry stood up now. "Do you realize the consequences this could have on the future?" he asked her. "Neville would never get over his fear of anything and be the one to destroy the final Horcrux in order for me to kill Voldemort. Thousands of Death Eaters would still be alive, and could possibly kill even more people than had already died. Draco will never meet you, and he'll never fall in love."

"Neville always had the bravery in him; it's why he's in Gryffindor. He could still kill Nagini at the battle at the Ministry. With what I know, I can tell you guys where all the Death Eaters are stationed. And it's impossible for more innocents to die than already has. Thousands of innocents were lost in the war. Think of all the lives that would be saved."

"And Draco?" he asked her. "Could you really live knowing that he doesn't know you?"

"Could I really live any longer knowing he's dead?" she questioned him. "Harry, please. I have to save Draco. I'd rather him not know who I am than be dead. At least this way I'll know he's alive."

It took seven minutes of silent staring before Harry sat back down. He nodded his head in agreement. He couldn't believe that he was agreeing to this. This wasn't like him. Sure, he liked to break the rules but this… this was different. He was helping her to change everything. He had no idea if the future would be any brighter, darker, or if he may be the one who dies this time – without coming back. He knew it was risky, but his mind kept wandering back to Ginny. He would do the same. He wouldn't care about the consequences; just the idea of knowing she would still be alive would make him do it. He often thought about doing this when Sirius died, then Dumbledore, and even Fred; but he knew it was wrong. He loved them but it wasn't the same. They weren't a part of his soul.

"You'll be taken to Number 12 Grimmauld Place," Harry informed her, "This is the day after Christmas, two days before we have to return back to Hogwarts," reaching into his pocket, Harry pulled out his snitch. "Give this to myself, and he'll believe you. Explain everything in detail, so we can kill Voldemort as quickly as possible. Once Voldemort is killed you'll be able to return. You and I will both remember everything. So I'll be here waiting for you to come back."

"How do I come back?" she asked him.

"Once Voldemort is killed you'll see a doorway, just walk to it. You'll end up back here."

"And what are you going to do?"

"Stay here with Draco," Harry sighed. "I'll do spells so his body doesn't rot, and so no unwanted people comes here. I'll let everyone else know once they arrive. I'll have Ron and Seamus search for the ones who did this."

Nodding her head, Tonya felt sick. "Thank you Harry. I'm sorry for shouting at you like that."

"I understand," he nodded his head as well. "Try not to be seen by anyone who isn't one of us," he warned her, "The less people who see you the less attention you'll draw to yourself," looking down at her ring, he sighed. "You're going to have to take it off."

"I can't-" when she saw Harry open his mouth, Tonya sighed as well, "It's spelled. Once Draco and I made our bond, it permanently stuck to us. It'll only come off once we're no longer married, which means when I change the future and Draco doesn't know me."

"Oh," pressing his lips to her forehead, Harry pulled Tonya into a tight hug, "You have your album?"

Touching the tiny bump in the front pocket of her jean shorts, Tonya nodded her head. "In case you guys don't believe me I'm going to show it for proof."

"You have pictures of you and Draco in there as well?"

"Of our wedding," Tonya's eyes were broken; reminding her of a broken faucet that burst open and couldn't stop gushing out water.

After one more hug, and another kiss on the forehead, Harry took a step back. Taking in a deep breath he waved his wand around and muttered a quick spell. Tonya was too wrapped up in her thoughts to hear his words. There was a flash of golden light then suddenly she was gone. Just as the girl disappeared a green flame appeared in the fireplace, and Harry turned around to face his group of friends. Taking in a deep breath he quickly explained everything that had just happened.

**A/N: Please Review, so I know that this story is worth continuing at least! (: It gets brighter over time. I promise! I know that I personally can't read a story with a dead Draco, so it does get better. And next chapter is when Tonya meets the order. :3**


	3. The Greatest Casualties

**A/N: Ahhh! Sorry it took 2 weeks to post this. If you have been following any of my stories from day one, then you know I upload a new chapter every Monday. Or Tuesday. But last week I didn't get a chance to because I haven't been home since Halloween. And when I did go home it was for only a few minutes. I've been either at the hospital or at my cousin's house or my friend's house. And then one of my good friends got killed. This is my 2cd friend to be killed in the last 2 months ): sooo sorry. But please, enjoy!**

The Greatest Casualties

Gathered around a long table in Number 12 Grimmauld Place everyone was busy trying to figure out everything that had happened. Harry had a dream about Arthur Weasley, woke up, warned Dumbledore. Then Arthur was attacked. Dumbledore wanted Snape to teach Harry Occlumency, while Harry basically just wanted to kill Snape. They were all there: Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Tonks, Arthur and Molly Weasley, Bill Weasley, Charlie Weasley, Fred and George Weasley, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter.

Hearing a sound that simply could be resembled to a wave crashing against a rock, the talking stopped as they all turned to the direction it came from; in the middle of the room there was a flashing golden light that caused all the older adults to gasp in shock. They knew what this represented. Then just as quickly as it appeared the light disappeared. They found themselves staring at a puffy faced, crying, Tonya Malfoy. She was wearing tiny black jean shorts, with a short and tight white shirt that had a black and pink picture of a dead looking skeleton girl wearing a pink bow. She was covered in blood.

"My name is Tonya Malfoy," she immediately introduced herself, earning a couple wands directed in her way, but she continued on as if she hadn't noticed any of it, "I'm from the year 2000. It's been two years since Harry killed Voldemort. I came to change the past though. Instead of Harry killing Voldemort in his seventh year, I want him to kill him _this year_," her eyes landed on a scowling Sirius Black and she sighed with relief, "Oh thank god! Harry sent me to the right place. Sirius is still alive, so this is fifth year then," ignoring the gasps, she saw the injured state that Arthur Weasley was in, "And Arthur was just attacked so it's still your Christmas break. Is it two days before you guys return to Hogwarts?" when everyone absentmindedly nodded their heads, she sighed in relief again. "Good. We have time then, but not enough. So go on with the attacks then, so we can quickly get started."

"You said your name is Malfoy?"

"You're from the future?"

"You want me to kill Voldemort now instead of seventh year?"

"So that means that Harry wins then?"

"What do you mean I die?"

"What is the meaning of this?"

"Whose blood is that on you?"

"Why are you crying?"

"She's a bloody Malfoy!"

"You're American?"

"Sirius, you die at the end of this year. I'll explain it when I explain everything else. Yes, Harry wins. By the way Professor Dumbledore, it's a twisted move what you do. If you just told Harry everything from the beginning, I wouldn't have had to come here right now. You die too by the way… at the end of sixth year. I'm crying because I just found my husband murdered on our bedroom floor, drained completely of his blood, which is now painting our room. So this is his blood that I'm covered in. I'm a Malfoy because my husband is Draco Malfoy. No! I'm not a pureblood. I'm an American muggle from California. I found him almost dead after the war. He's an Auror along with Harry, Ron, and Seamus. Oh, and Harry-" reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the snitch, "My Harry said to give this to you. He said you'll believe me once you see this."

Slowly walking up to the blood covered girl whom everyone was staring at with wide eyes, and open mouths, Harry grabbed it from her. "It's the first snitch I caught in the first game I played in."

Nodding her head, Tonya looked over to Dumbledore whose twinkling blue eyes watched everything in amusement. "Professor Dumbledore gave it you in his will. Now I was told that you guys would most likely use Legilimency on me. So can we do this quickly? I have a lot to explain: the rest of this year, along with sixth, and seventh and then the after effects. The quicker we do this the quicker Snape can teach Harry Occlumency."

Everyone looked at each other. Kingsley, Snape, Sirius, and Lupin were the ones who pointed their wands at her and read into her mind. They didn't go too far back in, but just far enough to see Harry send her back into the past after crying, and they could see the dead body. They saw Draco being friends with the golden trio and Ginny, while they saw her and Draco. Pulling out of her mind, they all nodded their heads and told everyone she was speaking the truth. Hermione – feeling sick with all the blood – quickly cleaned her up, while they all sat back around the table.

"I'm going to jump," Tonya warned them. "Ask questions when you get one, because we need to get through this as quickly as possible. We only have until the end of this year for everything to happen."

"Why are you doing this?" asked Tonks, who didn't look into her mind.

"Draco was killed by Death Eaters because he betrayed them. He's one of the ex-Death Eaters who switched sides during the war. Theodore Nott was just about to kill Ginny, but Draco killed him. Goyle saw everything. After the war the remaining Death Eaters who escaped plotted revenge. They're going around killing all the ex-Death Eaters, and Draco's the biggest one. His mum saved Harry's life-" this earned a gasp from everyone; even Dumbledore. "-and he saved Ginny's, not to mention he's married to me, working as an Auror, and is – _was_-" her eyes watered once more. Everyone gave her time to pause, but she simply continued, "-going to be the best man for Harry and Ginny's wedding."

"I marry who!" came the shouts of both a blushing Harry and Ginny.

"You start dating next year. Are you with Cho already, Harry?" when he nodded his head, she scowled, "Never liked her. I asked Draco if she was a Death Eater once and he only laughed at me. So anyways, yeah… you two are about to get married."

"Why is Malfoy my best man, and not Ron?"

"Well it's Ginny who wanted Draco, actually. Ron's not hurt because Ron chose Neville for his and Hermione's wedding-"

"WHAT!" all the Weasleys and Hermione shouted at this information.

"You realize your love for each other in the middle of the war. You two aren't married yet. You're still only engaged. You're about to be married though; three months after Harry and Ginny. Oh, don't look at me like that. Everyone knows how you two feel about each other, especially since the Yule Ball last year. Ron gets all pissy because Hermione made out with Krum – who I also hate by the way – and Hermione attacks Ron with canaries when he goes out with Lavender. Has that happened yet?"

"I go out with who?" Ron turned a scarlet red while the twins wolf whistled.

"It's whom, Ron, not who," Hermione quickly corrected him in annoyance, trying to ignore the fact that this was her future husband, and that she was jealous enough to actually attack him because of it.

"Oh shoot, that's next year. But yeah you go out with Lavender Brown – who is one of the ones to die during the war. Okay, you know what… I'm just going to tell you who dies, who gets injured, and who goes out right now alright. So that way when I explain everything, when I mention it, you'll all be prepared. But I'm warning you guys. Brace yourselves. Half this room is mentioned."

The entire room went grim at her words. They knew a lot of them would die, but half the room? Is it that terrible? "We're ready, Mrs. Malfoy," Dumbledore informed her.

The tears returned. Looking up, Tonya said, "While I'm here could you all please call me Tonya? I-I can't…"

"Of course dear," Molly had tears in her eyes for this young girl. She knew how hard this must be for her. To be so young, and find her husband murdered – Molly didn't want to even think about it. Hearing about _her_ husband's attack had been enough torture for her.

"And I'm sorry," Tonya sniffed, "For what I'm about to say. I'll start with marriages first. No sense in bringing up the deaths, just to bring joy, just to bring it back down again. Harry and Ginny; you two start dating next year. You guys break up because of something that happens at the end of the year, although you two don't date until near the end. I think you guys were together only for like three months? Ginny's with Dean most of the year anyways, while Harry fights with himself because she's his best friends little sister, and he shouldn't be thinking of her as anything other than his own sister."

"Dean Thomas?" Ginny's eyes were huge. She always loved Harry, but she never thought she would end up with Dean.

Tonya nodded her head, "Yep. So I mentioned Ron and Hermione already. Hermione makes the first move. In the middle of the battle Ron shouts to free all of the house-elves that work at Hogwarts so they don't get killed, because of… well… umm… I'll explain after… then Hermione jumps him and they make out. Harry gets annoyed, reminds them there's a war, then they continue to fight. Although Ron does protect you quite a lot Hermione."

"Erm thanks…" Hermione said in an unsure voice towards Ron. He wants to free the elves to protect them from being killed? She wanted to jump him right now.

As red as his hair, Ron avoided her eyes. "Y-you're welcome."

"Bill-" jumping at hearing his name, Bill saw everyone turn to look at him oddly. "You marry Fleur Delacour."

Choking on air, while every male – besides Dumbledore, Arthur, and Snape – whistled at him, Bill's eyes grew wide. "I-I-I-I m-marry a Veela?"

"Yes. Molly, Hermione, and Ginny hate her in the beginning, but… err… dammit, I'll just explain this one now. No sense going back to it afterwards. There's a battle on the Astronomy tower next year, and you get attacked from Greyback-" they all heard Remus snarl at the name, "It's not a full moon, but your face is scarred – it's nice to meet you before the scar by the way, you too Hermione-" when Hermione's face paled, she smiled at her, "-later, but anyway, Bill, you don't become a wolf; just a scarred face and a craving for raw meat with the occasional mood swing. Molly them fall in love with Fleur when she nearly beheads Molly for trying to tend to you, claiming that it's her job as your soon to be wife."

Everyone turned to Molly to see how she would handle the information of nearly being beheaded by Fleur for trying to tend to her own son, but she was too busy fussing over Bill. "Oh my poor son!"

"I'm so sorry Molly," when everyone turned back to Tonya with paled faces, they now questioned if the tears were only for Draco. Molly and Arthur's faces both paled as they realized half of the room was filled with their own children.

"Who dies?" asked a nervous Ron. Obviously not him, but will he lose a brother? A professor? Snape!

"Weddings first," Tonya shook her head then grimly smiled up at Remus and Tonks. She would hate telling them the most, because it was their names in both categories. "Remus and Tonks – in the beginning, Remus denies her because of their age-" everyone saw the wide eyes Remus had, while Tonks blushed. "Yeah Tonks, you tell him of your crush, and he turns you away. You become all wonky, and you can't metamorph anymore, or whatever it is you do. He realizes that your Patronus changes into a wolf, you guys fall in love, get married, and have a son. Teddy. By the way Harry, you're the godfather."

"Really?" Harry turned to the now equally blushing Remus, and beamed, "Thanks Remus."

"You… uh… you're welcome Harry."

"Oh congratulations Tonks!" beamed an excited Hermione.

"T-Thanks."

"George, you're engaged to Angelina Johnson."

Fred quickly turned on his twin, "My bloody girlfriend! You're engaged to my bloody girlfriend? How the bloody hell could you – oh!"

It took a couple seconds for it to register in everyone else's mind on why Fred would suddenly stop shouting at his brother for dating his girlfriend. Of course, George is the first to realize it. His face pales as he thinks of it. Slowly, the entire room is filled with a ghostly silence and tears. All eyes turned on Tonya, as if begging for her to start laughing, and say how she's only joking with everyone. Of course though, it doesn't happen. Instead she stares at the twin she never met. Of course he looks just like George, but after spending two years with just one half she could tell the difference.

"Please," it was Ginny who ended the silence, "Please… no!"

"It's alright Gin!" Fred tried to smile, but wasn't able to. "I'm sure I go out with a bang right?"

"You're a hero," Tonya smiled lightly, proud of the tell-tale grin on Fred's face. "It's in the middle of the battle. Percy was fighting with all of you-" at the mention of Percy's name, everyone went grim again. "He realized he's been a prat all these years, and he joins you guys. Ron, Hermione, Fred, Harry, and Percy are grouped together with a couple of Death Eaters. Fred makes a joke about Percy joining the light right before they fight, and about him making a joke in the middle of a battle. The twins are the last two to forgive him, and Percy's all excited right – Fred forgives him while fighting side by side. Rockwood threw a hex at one of the walls, and it killed Fred. Percy took it the hardest; all he saw was blood. He screamed, and chased after Rockwood. But instead, Aberforth – yes Professor, he helps out more then you'll imagine – stunned him. Draco killed him four months ago."

"I love Malfoy," Ginny grinned through her tears, "He avenged my brother's death."

Lightly chuckling, Tonya nodded her head, "He's your best friend Ginny; Draco – he becomes your best friend."

"Who else, my dear?" Kingsely asked the girl. It was obvious the more that she spoke, the more pain she was in, and he wanted to help her get out of it as quickly as possible.

"Sirius-" she turned to the man in question. All eyes went from Fred to Sirius. "At the end of this year, Voldemort is able to send Harry a vision of him killing you at the Ministry. Of course it isn't real, but when Umbridge-" she couldn't help but to scoff at all the shudders from the name, "-takes Harry in, and threats him with the Cruciatus Curse, Snape comes in and saves him from the punishment. Harry shouts a code sentence to Snape, hoping he understands it-"

"What is it?" asks Charlie, speaking for the first time since she arrived. "What's the sentence?"

"Did you just say-" Molly's jaw was on the table. "Albus! Since when do you allow professors to use-"

"Dumbledore is no longer the Headmaster," Tonya shook her head, interrupting Molly's argument. "Umbridge gets him kicked out. She becomes Headmistress-" there were gasps along with more shudders. "And Charlie, the sentence, I believe was…_ they've got him, they've got Padfoot in the place that it's hidden_… Snape pretends to have no clue what he's talking about. Harry and Hermione leaves Umbridge to be attacked by the centaurs after taking her to Grawp-"

"Who?"

"Hagrid's giant-half-brother."

"Oh!"

"Wicked!"

"Ugh! I hate that giant!"

"Oh, and I don't want you guys to think I'm protecting him or anything, so I'll let you know… I forget who it is, but Umbridge slips a truth serum into a cup of tea, and questions one of the DA people… I think its Cho or Marietta, but Draco them gets to you guys. You guys still secretly continue your meetings though."

"Please tell me Dolores is killed."

"Minerva!"

"What? I can't stand her. And the punishment she uses on the-"

"Can I please continue? I still have about five more years to continue. In my time, we're twenty-" Tonya pointed at the golden trio. "Anyways, it's a setup. Hermione, Ginny, Harry, Ron, Neville – yes Longbottom – and Luna – yes Lovegood, although technically she's Longbottom as well now – yes Neville and Luna. Can I continue now if you guys are all finished staring?"

Giving all the younger kids, including Remus and Sirius a death glare, Snape nodded his head at Tonya, "Yes, please continue."

"Thank you. So as I was saying, they all get trapped inside; Death Eaters and all. I remember being told there were twelve of them. They all get into a battle. After nearly twenty minutes, all kids get trapped – no they're fine – the Order comes in: Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Arthur, Kingsley, and Mad Eye. By the way where is he? He's important in this."

"He'll be here soon, Tonya," McGonagall informed her. "He's needed elsewhere right now. We'll fill him in on everything as soon as he returns."

"Alright… well that's everyone who goes in, and the battle continues. Bellatrix ends up pushing Sirius through the veil."

"Ah!" Sirius hissed. "I can't believe I get killed by that bitch!"

"Well if it helps," Tonya shrugged her shoulders, "During the final battle at Hogwarts, Bellatrix is dueling Hermione, Luna, and Ginny – by the way, Ginny; way more powerful than you guys will ever know, and also a very kick ass chaser for the Harpies."

"I-I-I-"

"S-She what?" Ron's jaw was past the table and on the ground.

"Yes," Tonya smiled at Ginny, while everyone congratulated her. Then again this is only her fourth year. She doesn't try out for Quidditch until next year. "So the three girls and Bellatrix are going at it. They seem to be doing really good, and almost winning until another Death Eater jumps in. Ginny kills that one – I think it was Rodolphus? I'm not too sure – and then Bellatrix almost kills Ginny. Molly jumps in, Bellatrix says something I refuse to repeat, and Molly kills her."

"I love you Molly!" Sirius shouts across the table.

Chuckling, Molly nods her head, "Nobody touches my kids."

"That's exactly what you tell her as well, Molly," Tonya nodded her head at her. "Of course you do call her a bitch as well."

"Mum!"

"Molly!"

"Really?"

"Mum says what?"

"Wicked!"

"Bloody hell!"

"Cool!"

"No way!"

"Blimey!"

"About time someone kills that psychotic bitch!"

It took a couple of minutes before the room went silent again. During those loud moments, Tonya allowed herself to clear her mind for a bit. This was so hard. Harder than she imagined. How could she tell this room that most of them were about to die within just two years? How could she speak of so much death when she still smelt like the blood of her dead husband? How could she be in a room of so much people, knowing how scarred they are in just five years from now? How the hell was she supposed to continue on without knowing what would happen? Harry was right. She may be saving the lives of some for now, but what happens if the other half gets killed? What if her plan fails and Harry doesn't win the war? What if Draco still dies in the end?

"Tonya?" it was Sirius who pulled her out of her thoughts. "Are you alright, love?"

_Love!_ The tears returned heavier now. Her body used to purr when Draco would call her that. Now all she felt was emptiness. Nodding her head, Tonya attempted to wipe her tears away, but they wouldn't leave. "I-I'm fine," she lied, "S-Sorry… I'll continue. Professor Dumbledore, you're the next to go. This is where my information starts to become extremely crucial. I won't say too much, just bits. I'll explain deeper into it as I explain everything. Remember, I just want to prepare you all for the deaths right now."

"We're prepared," it was Arthur who spoke up this time. He sat here listening as his kids get married, while hearing about how his other son is killed. He watched as this girl explaining everything to them, broke down at certain words and most memories. He was ready to fight. To change anything he had to, especially this girl's future. She does not deserve a dead husband. Even if it is a Malfoy.

"Snape, prepare yourself. Nobody touch him. I'll explain his story right afterwards, so you'll understand. Professor, you take Harry to a cave for a locket. A Horcrux-" at Dumbledore's gasp, she nodded her head, "Yes! You were correct. Okay, no interruptions. Let me get through this quickly. I don't like having to repeat this. Dumbledore returns back even weaker then he already was – he was already weak because he found a Horcrux during the summer – this is this coming summer – and he wore the ring, and it killed his hand – don't say anything Ronald because you wear the locket, but that's for later. Anyway, they return back to the school. Okay now pay close attention, and don't kill Snape.

"Draco is a Death Eater, and he has a task from Voldemort – it doesn't happen until this coming summer after the thing at the Ministry because Lucius is in Azkaban, and Draco has to reclaim the Malfoy name. Draco lets Death Eaters into Hogwarts using the Room of Requirements, and has to kill Dumbledore – I said no interruptions. Dumbledore tells Harry to hide just as Draco's holding his wand to him. Draco hesitates. Harry tries to run back, but Snape tells him to be quiet, walks up, and kills Dumbledore. Dammit! Sirius, stop it! I said not to touch Snape! Listen to the rest!"

"Stop it Sirius," Dumbledore ordered him.

"But Albus, he kills you!"

"I'm sure he has good reason to."

"He actually does. Can I continue now?" when everyone nodded their heads, but continued to glare at a confused Snape, Tonya explained it to them. "The ring that Dumbledore was wearing poisoned him. Snape gave him a potion that would give him only one year to survive. Dumbledore knew the task that Voldemort gave to Draco, and he told Snape to fulfill it instead. He was about to die anyways, with only one month left to live thanks to the potion, and he didn't want Draco to live with the guilt of murder. Snape however, who has killed before, and knew of the potion, and was also blackmailed, yes Dumbledore, Harry saw it all – you were wrong to do that to Snape, and you know it-"

The entire room gasped now. Even Snape. Dumbledore however looked ashamed of himself. "I assume now then that all of my secrets will be revealed?" when Tonya nodded her head, he sighed then spoke to the room. "I ask that you do not judge me. And Severus, I am very sorry."

"It is alright, Albus," Snape nodded his head then turned to the girl with a cocked eyebrow. What does she mean Harry saw everything? Why would he allow Potter to see that much?

"So that's how Dumbledore was killed," she explained. "Now here's for Snape's story. Which also let me say, Snape you die. When you killed Dumbledore, Voldemort thought you gained the Elder wand – yes Dumbledore, he finds out you have it. He kidnaps Grindewauld? Or was it Ollivander? I never really understood the story of Grindewauld or who he really is. Well anyway, Voldemort takes them both, and one of them ends up giving in, and spilling the beans on you-"

"It's a muggle expression for squealing," Hermione explained to the confused purebloods.

"-Or something like that," Tonya continued speaking as if Hermione hadn't even said anything. "So he kills Snape for the power in the wand to recognize him, which by the way Snape doesn't possess it, because Draco disarms you that night in the Astronomy tower, not Snape. Harry, Hermione, and Ron are all hiding; watching Nagini torture, and kill Snape – yeah sorry, you have a pretty gruesome death-"

Everyone watched as her entire body shook at her words _gruesome death_, and then they remembered how she said she found Draco dead. Sirius and Fred both nodded their heads at each other. They heard how they were killed, it was nothing compared to either Malfoy or Snape. At least theirs were quick and painless. McGonagall conjured a clean handkerchief, and handed it to the girl who was crying once again. Taking it, she apologized for acting this way, but everyone excused her. Most cried for her as a matter of a fact. She mentioned she was only twenty when she first arrived – this must have been pure hell for her.

"Anyway," Tonya said six minutes later, trying to control her breathing now. "Harry runs up to save Snape, and Snape gives him his memory in a tear. Touching final words by the way, Snape."

"What do I say?" Potter tried to save him? He willingly gave Potter his memory?

"You force Harry to look at you then you say;_ you have your mother's eyes,_ and then you die. Harry actually told me he wants to name one of his sons after you. He's thinking of Albus Severus actually. But of course he wants a James Sirius too."

"Thank you Potter."

Harry, who was already shocked when he heard he tried to save Snape, gasped when he heard he wanted to name his son after Snape, but now… now Snape was thanking him. "Y-y-you're w-welcome," it came out in a stammer.

"Harry looks through it, and put it this way. Snape still loves Lily. His Patronus is a doe. He was actually the one who warned Dumbledore that Voldemort was going to kill you. He wanted protection for you guys, as long as it meant that Lily would live. He was the one who discovered your parents, and contacted Dumbledore to come and rescue you… after holding your mother for an hour, and crying. I understand by the way Snape. At least-"

Snape nodded his head at her, "I understand Tonya," not needing her to complete her sentence.

"Thanks," she weakly smiled at him before continuing, "Dumbledore didn't want to believe Snape in the beginning, but obviously he did, and obviously the wrong secret keeper was chosen. But Snape loved Lily. He protected you more than you know, Harry. He despises you because you remind him so much of your father, but the reason he can't face you is because you also remind him so much of your mother. The reason he loves Lily is because-"

"We were best of friends," Snape spoke up, earning gasps from only the younger generation. Obviously everyone else knew this already. "We grew up in the same muggle town. We met before Hogwarts. But she was placed in Gryffindor, and I was in Slytherin."

"Y-you're a muggle?" it was Hermione who stammered now.

He nodded his head, "Well half at least."

"You find out next year," Tonya informed Harry. "You find an old school book of his. He was called the half-blood prince," when Snape gasped, Tonya nodded her head, "So basically Harry, Snape really and truly is a good guy. He even dies for you. So stop being such a dick to him. Ooh, this isn't fun either. I won't go into why, but you guys are doing something seventh year. Horcrux hunting – you'll learn soon enough – when you get caught. You means: Harry, Ron, and Hermione."

"Of course it does," moaned McGonagall. "It's always you three."

"You get taken to the Malfoy manor. You have something that Snape gives to you through his Patronus while he's Headmaster – oh yeah, after he kills Dumbledore he becomes Headmaster – it's the Gryffindor sword. Snape places a fake one in Bellatrix's vault at Gringotts, and Bellatrix sees the real one when you guys are brought in. Hermione flew a curse at Harry right before they were brought in, so no one recognizes him as Harry Potter. Ron and Hermione however are recognized at once. Draco is asked to verify if it's Harry, but he's already slowly switching sides so says he's not sure, but that it looks nothing like him. Ron and Harry get taken to the basement. Ollivander, Dean Thomas, Luna, and Griphook are all there as well."

"Where's Hermione?" questioned Remus.

"With Bellatrix-" the entire room paled once more. Hermione looked as if she were about to be sick.

"This is where I become scarred?"

Tonya nodded her head, "She carves into your forearm with a dagger," she explained. "A word that Kingsley forbids – by the way you're Minister of Magic now Kingsley-" there was a quick pause for congratulations then she continued, "The uh… umm… _dirty word_."

"We know what the word you're trying to say is, Tonya," Charlie nodded his head, realizing her struggle with saying it.

Nodding her head again, she saw everyone else do the same then she thanked Charlie, and continued on. "She carved it with a dagger, along with using the Cruciatus Curse on you for information. You don't speak though. Dobby comes in and rescues you guys, and Bellatrix kills him."

"The bitch kills Dobby!" everyone was stunned when that came from Hermione. Puffing, she muttered something that sounded oddly like flaming ducks under her breath.

Ron remembered something from earlier. "Is that why I wanted to free the house-elves during the war? So there were no more Dobby's?"

"Exactly. Oh no!" Tonya paled.

"What is it?"

"The next two deaths," shuddering, Tonya avoided looking anyone else in the eyes. She chose to stare at a black spot on the wall instead, refusing to look at anyone. "Well four in a way. I guess. Colin Creevey is killed. He fought hard."

"He's so young," Ginny cried for her friend. He's her age, and in her year in Gryffindor.

"Greyback kills Lavender as well," she said softly.

Tears fell from Hermione's eyes. She never particularly liked Lavender, but hearing about her death was still sickening. "I never thought it would be possible to mourn for her."

"Just a year after we date?" Ron questioned, his face pale, and looking as if he were about to be sick.

"I really hate this."

"The quicker you tell us the quicker you can get it over with," Arthur spoke with a kind and soothing voice. He wished he could take this girl's pain for her. She was suffering.

Nodding her head, Tonya wiped her tears away once more. "Remus and Tonks."

"B-But you said they have a son."

"They do. Teddy is a month old when the war happens. Yaxley and Bellatrix are rumored to be the ones who killed them."

"That bitch!" Tonks shouted, her hair turning a flame color while her eyes turned onyx. "I bet it was Bellatrix who killed me."

Tonya nodded her head again. "Yeah."

"So glad you killed her Molly!"

"Hear hear!"

"At least I know my son is safe," Remus smiled across at Harry who was having a very difficult time fighting his tears back.

"You die side by side, fighting together," she assured them. "When they found you, your hands were linked together. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," it was Tonks who spoke to her now. "We know what we were doing, and what we were risking. We died doing what was right. And as you said, we won the war. I'm sure Harry would make sure our son knew we loved him, and that we died for a great cause."

She smiled, "Of course he does. And it's your mother who raises him – Andromeda. Harry gets him during the summer though, and once in a while throughout the year as well."

"Is that all the deaths then?"

"No, it's not even close," Tonya sadly shook her head, "Or casualties. It's the beginning of seventh year. I'll explain later when Mad Eye gets here, but I'll say it now. Mad Eye is killed, betrayed by Mundungus Fletcher. And on the very same night, oh sorry Harry, Hedwig is killed too-"

"They killed my owl?" Harry whimpered at the thought of his owl being dead.

"And George loses an ear."

"Oh great!" George banged his head against a table. "I lose my twin, my Headmaster, professor, friends, Hedwig, and now I lose my ear too. How does that happen?"

"Snape-"

"Great! Of course! Thanks, Professor Snape!"

"-Was trying to protect you-"

"Oh!"

"-Something was going on, and Death Eaters attacked. He went on the mission as a Death Eater to keep up his role, but he was flying curses at the Death Eaters instead. Someone was behind you, just about to kill you, when he flew the curse at the Death Eater. You didn't know anyone was behind you, saw Snape fly the curse, and tried to dodge it. But it hit you instead."

"Would you like something to eat dear?" Molly stood up now, "I'll get you food! You look like you're ready to be sick!"

Tonya simply nodded her head, "Thank you!"

**A/N 2: Sorry if it's all just jumbled up like that. Because this chapter mentions all the deaths and injuries, I tried to make some little small kind jokes in there. I hope you guys liked it though? Please tell me what you think of it! I want to know if I should continue it or not. I already have 10 chapters written up for it on my laptop, and it's only 3 chapters in, but I don't know… let me know what you guys think. Is it going too slow? Too quick? Too boring? Review please!**


	4. Expectations

Expectations

Mad Eye Moody returned from his mission while Molly and McGonagall were forcing food down the future woman's throat. Kingsley, Arthur, Sirius, Remus, Bill, and Charlie filled him in on literally everything that had just been said. He peeked into the girl's mind, and found even himself wanting to cry. And Mad Eye Moody isn't one to cry. Tonks, Hermione, and Ginny found themselves gossiping about their future marriages while Harry, Ron, Snape, and Dumbledore all sat in silence just watching everything take place.

It took half an hour before they all sat around the table again. It took another four hours before they learned everything that happened from this moment on all the way through the moment that Tonya came in from the future. Not one eye was dry by the time she finished. Even Mad Eye and Snape were crying once she filled them in on the future. As bright as it was, it still had its shadows.

"You shouldn't be changing the future, girl," Mad Eye shook his head at her.

"I know that," Tonya nodded her head. "But call me selfish. I have never had anything good in my life before Draco. I refuse to let him be dead when I know I can change it. And look at it this way, a lot of you will live now."

"But if we change anything, we don't know if Harry will still win the war."

"Of course he will. He has everything I just told him."

"I'll start the hunt for the Horcruxes right now," Harry jumped up.

"Don't be silly dear," Molly shook her head at him.

"You can't leave Hogwarts, Harry," Sirius shook his head as well.

"What? Why not?"

Rolling her eyes, Tonya looked at him as if he were mental. "If you go missing from the school he'll get suspicious. Besides, you need to stay with Snape. Practice harder. No more trying to torture each other. You're both on the same damn side. We don't have time to screw up. I'm not accepting Draco not knowing me just to have you be killed, Harry. And I don't think _my_ Harry will appreciate it very much."

"Wait-" Fred was confused, "What do you mean he won't know you?"

"I'm changing the future," Tonya explained, "The battle at Hogwarts will never happen. So he won't run away to California, and we won't meet. Draco will never know who I am."

Bill dropped his jaw, "And you still want to do this?"

"Why is everyone questioning me?" Tonya scowled at them. "I don't want him dead anymore. And you all just heard your own futures. I'm sure none of you want each other or yourselves dead either, am I right? I know that you guys right _now_ still hate Draco, but I don't, nor do the future versions of you. And I happen to very much love him _alive_. And if that means he doesn't know who I am, then fine. I'll kill Voldemort on my own if I have to. I know enough to do it."

Harry shook his head, "Don't be ridiculous. I'm not leaving you alone in this."

"None of us are," Sirius promised her.

Arthur nodded his head, "None of us are going to die this time."

"Not even Malfoy," shocked heads turned towards Ron, who merely shrugged his shoulders.

"I pity your future," Kingsley grimly shook his head.

Mad Eye nodded his head approvingly, "What is the plan, Tonya?"

"Everyone who's in school will go back to it. Return to the DA classes, even if you guys get caught. Cause I think it was within a month of returning back from – no wait – cause Harry's with Cho during Valentines – so umm, like a week after-" everyone watched as she debated with herself. "Yep right, it's in like two months when you guys get caught. But buff it up. Umm, Tonks… I want you to sneak in through Aberforth's bar to get in; I want you teaching them nonverbal spells. Professor Dumbledore, I think it's time that you and your brother make up. Snape, continue picking on them the way you do-"

Whines came from every Gryffindor in the room. "Awe what? But why do we have to get picked on?"

"Nobody can know that he's on our side. Nothing can tip Voldemort off at all. Professor McGonagall, you too. The professors and Headmaster need to make sure Umbridge suspects nothing. And don't trust Filch; he's okay, but he loves her. And as much as I love Hagrid; yes I do love Hagrid – he was at my wedding – don't tell him anything. A bucket of mead, and he can't keep a secret."

Harry looked shocked, "We can't tell Hagrid anything?"

"Do I need to remind you of how you three normally find out your information?" when the golden trio suddenly fell silent, she turned to Bill. "Can you get into the Gringotts in Britain? Or only the one in Egypt?"

"I can get to this one as well," he nodded his head.

"Great, I'll need you to help get me into the Lestrange vault. We need to get that gob-"

"You?" Mad Eye questioned, "You're going to be the one searching for the Horcruxes?"

"Look," Tonya sighed, "We need to do this quickly. This has to go through without any flaws. While Harry and Tonks are training the DA, and the professors are teaching – by the way; Snape, Harry…"

"We know," Harry nodded his head, "Lessons every night."

"The Horcruxes need to be found. We can't destroy them yet though. With each one that's destroyed, Voldemort can feel it. Professor Dumbledore, do you know where the ring is already, because this coming summer you're wearing it."

"Yes," he nodded his head, "I'll get that."

"Mad Eye, I'll trust you to go with him. It calls to him and tempts him to put it on. I'm trusting you-" thinking about it, Tonya suddenly shook her head, "No… no, that's too risky. I'll go with you, Professor Dumbledore. I'm hoping that since I'm not magical, it won't call to me the way it calls to you. Mad Eye might be just as tempted as you to put it on. No sense in both of you being poisoned."

Bill spoke now, "I'll go as well. I'm a Curse Breaker after all. I'll try to see if I can help in any way to prevent it from tempting anyone to wear it."

"I'm not letting you go on any of these missions," Mad Eye hissed at the twenty year old. "It's too risky!"

"I'm doing it whether you approve or not!"

"You'll be murdered in an instant!"

"That's why I'm telling you guys the plan now!"

"You're on a suicide mission!"

"I am not! I just know the risks! The same way everyone else in this room did!"

"They are highly trained witches and wizards!"

"Colin wasn't," Mad Eye and Tonya stopped arguing, and turned to Hermione who was now speaking, "He's Ginny's age, you know, just a fourth year. He doesn't put his camera down long enough to do anything else. He's not even in the DA, and yet he fought in the war. I wish he hadn't, but he gave his life knowing the risks."

Sirius cleared his throat, "I agree with the girls, Mad Eye. Tonya obviously knows the risks. And as the muggles say; Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. We need her, and not just to tell us what to do, but by our sides. She explained to us how some things happened, but I have a feeling when faced with it, she'll understand it better than us."

"I would rather Tonya did not throw herself into danger," Molly was backing up Mad Eye, "She's only twenty."

Bill turned to his mum; shocking everyone in the room. Including Tonya – she had never seen him stand up to Molly before. That was always Charlie's job. "Harry, Hermione, and Ron were only seventeen when they went on the hunt for Horcruxes, and Fred was only nineteen when he died in the war. Ginny's only fourteen now, and apparently she almost surpasses Harry in combat – and he's the one teaching her what to do."

"I agree with them, Molly," Arthur shocked everyone just by speaking. He was usually the quiet one, and he hated it when Harry them would do something heroic. "And from what I've observed tonight, Tonya will do it anyways. At least this way, we'll be able to watch her, and protect her. She has everything to _lose_ right now. We're gaining the lives of our lost son, and our lost friends. She's going from losing a husband to death; to having a living husband who doesn't even know she exists. It's only proper that she has a right to fight with us."

It was Mad Eye, Molly, and McGonagall against everyone else in the room. Even Dumbledore argued that it was only fair that Tonya be a part of everything; seeing as how she's the one who planned it. Everyone was too busy in their own arguments that no one seemed to notice the tiny, crying girl sitting on her chair and lost in her thoughts. Tonya was gently twirling the ring on her finger; silver with a snake on each side of it, holding up a rather large emerald in the center of it. It was meshed in with a white golden rose ring, holding a tiny sun yellow diamond in it. Sun yellow had always been her favorite color; something she always admired about life. Draco had gotten it for her favorite color. While they were engaged she wore the muggle ring, but during the bonding ceremony Draco placed the two rings on her finger, and Kingsley touched them both with his wand. They became one, blending in perfectly; showing the union between the muggle and the pureblooded Malfoy. She thought back to the day that Draco had proposed to her.

_ Draco planned it out to be completely perfect. They've known each other for only seven months, and dated for five, but everything seemed so perfect to him. He didn't want to be like those people who waited a lifetime to do something they know in their hearts is already right. He had no doubt that she would say yes. She loved him as much as he loved her; sort of. He loved her more than life itself. Also, Blaise had informed him that she often talks of marriage. It was one of the bigger points that helped him to know she would definitely agree to it. He went to Ginny for help, and together they found the perfect ring. It was beautifully simple, just like Tonya. Extraordinary in every way, but unless you were purposely looking for perfection, you would think it were just simple._

_ He went to his parents, to let them know what he was planning on doing. Narcissa immediately went into wedding planning mode; also knowing her future daughter-in-law would accept. Lucius reminded him that he was only eighteen, and they had many more years to become married, but Draco was persistent; he was going to marry her now. So Lucius took him to the family vault, pulling out a tiny silver velvet box, and gave him the Malfoy ring. Draco was shocked. He expected his father to disown him, not give him the Malfoy ring to give to his muggle girlfriend – soon to be muggle fiancée, and then eventually muggle wife. He showed Lucius the ring he had already brought for her and that was when the idea struck him. He presented it to Lucius, who loved it instantly. Lucius kissed the ring as all purebloods do to wish the soon to be husband and wife good luck._

_ "Babe!" Draco's heart leapt up into his throat when he heard her voice call to him. What was she doing home early? She wasn't supposed to be home for another hour. Stopping in his tracks, he turned to the open bedroom door. He looked like a deer caught in headlights. There were scattered rose petals throughout the entire bedroom, with unlit candles, un-chilled champagne bottles sitting on the floor, chocolates still in the boxes, and the bed was still messy. _

_ "Love, you're home early!" his voice came out in a nervous squeal, and he followed her eyes gaze. Draco gulped air. In one hand he had a plainly visible engagement ring, and in the other hand he held an open bottle of champagne. He knew that this was extremely cliché, but this was the perfect proposal in Tonya's eyes; she told him that once while they watched some corny movie one night._

_ Finally managing to take her eyes off the ring, Tonya looked at Draco. It looked like he just woke up from a nap. He was wearing just plain grey sweatpants, with his hair completely tussled, and sleep-filled eyes. Scanning the room she saw his wand poking out from underneath the bed, and she saw the unfinished… whatever it was he was doing. "W-What are you d-doing?" she nervously asked him._

_ "I… erm… um… ah… well…" taking a deep breath then sighing, Draco turned completely towards her. "I wanted this to be more romantic. I thought you weren't off for another hour, and I figured I had more than enough time. And I didn't want to use my wand, because where's the romance in that? Will you marry me?"_

_ Tonya's heart did over a million flips in that one moment. Her lips went dry, while her eyes found moisture. Feeling her knees start to cave in, Tonya took in Draco's just out of bed look once more, the half-finished room, and the ring without a box. Running across the room, she jumped on Draco, causing them both to fall back onto the bed. "This is more romantic than you'll ever know," she grinned up at him. Straddling his chest, she could feel his heart beating. Here she was: smelling like burgers, and wearing long blue jeans with a red buttoned down shirt. Her hair stuck up in every direction imaginable, and she was sweaty. Draco just woke up, smelling of sweat, and looking like sleep. Yet he proposed to her. "Yes, Draco, I'll marry you. I love you so much!"_

_ Grinning, he pulled her lips down to his. "You have no idea what you just did for me. I love you too, love!"_

Hearing her name, Tonya stopped toying with the ring and looked up. She saw that everyone was staring at her. "Huh?"

"Are you alright?" Tonks asked her, sharing concerned glances with the rest of the females in the group. "We've been calling you for the last minute."

"Oh," nodding her head, Tonya wiped her tears away one more time. "Sorry, I didn't hear you guys. So are you done arguing now?"

"We've decided that you can accompany us on some of the missions," Mad Eye announced grudgingly. By the tone in his voice, Tonya could tell that he had been forced to accept her.

Nodding her head, she didn't even bother to feign a smile. "Very well then. Can I continue with the plan now?"

"In the morning," Molly shook her head, walking over to her. "It's just after one in the morning, dear. You have been through a very rough night, and we all need our rest. We'll continue this once we wake up."

Allowing Molly to help her stand up, Tonya nodded her head, "Alright."

Sirius and Remus both exchanged glances. She had been so eager to rush through everything, and now she was so quick to accept the order to go to sleep. When they realized she was no longer with them, they all shouted out her name; watching while she fiddled with her wedding ring – which they all admired – and they saw she was in another world. Her thoughts had caught up to her. "Have you… erm…" Sirius stumbled on the correct way to approach this, "Have you mourned yet?"

"There'll be time to mourn later," Tonya shook her head. "Right now we need to do as much as we can to change the future. Where will I stay?"

Sirius sighed, "Here of course," the poor girl. She hadn't even had time to mourn her husband properly. "Molly will show you to your room."

"I'll bring you some clothes," Hermione said, realizing that the girl from the future had nothing with her, "So you can shower."

Smiling a weak smile, Tonya nodded her head at Hermione. "Thanks."

Once freshly showered, Tonya emerged from the large bathroom in the large bedroom she was staying in, smelling like honey. Hermione transfigured an old shirt into a fresh pair of blue panties for her, while giving her a black tank top and red cottoned shorts to wear. Lying on the bed, she held onto the photo album in her hand. Draco taught her something cool when he made it for her. When she strokes the binding of it three times it shrinks down to a keychain size so she can fit it in her pocket; then when she strokes it five times it grows back to its regular size. Right now she kept it at its larger size. She didn't want to open it just yet though. She wasn't ready to face the pictures just yet. She continued to smell the honey, and the tears flowed freely once again.

Draco always compared her to honey. Whenever he would kiss her, he claimed she tasted of honey and apples; when he tasted her juices he said she tasted of honey; her hair reminded him of honey flowing to the middle of her shoulders in waves; her scent was of honey; she was sweet just like honey. Hugging tightly onto the photo album, images of Draco ran through Tonya's mind: Draco when he was alive, Draco when he was dead, hurt, scared, running, playing Quidditch, laughing, holding her, crying, watching a movie, reading, thinking too much, scowling, sleeping, working, driving, jogging, texting – texting… oh god texting! Her sobs were growing louder now. The thoughts she had been thinking right before she found him. Stupid texting! Stupid milk! Stupid cake! Stupid promotion! Stupid fucking Draco! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Fucking stupid!

And that was how she fell asleep: cursing everything she could think of, considering all things to be stupid, feeling guilty for texting him to pick up milk for his little celebration dinner, feeling guilty for being at work and not at home; wishing she could be dead with him, wishing he wouldn't forget who she was, wishing that she would wake up back in Draco's arms. Tears stained her face, burning her eyes as they continued to fall. Clutching tightly onto the photo album, Draco's face stayed strong in her mind. Right now she imagined that he was whispering in her ear; telling her that everything would get better.

**Review please! I know this chapter is one of the junk ones, but still… reviews make me all warm inside(: so please keep them up! Thank you :3**


	5. Planning

Planning

Waking up the next morning was the hardest thing Tonya has ever had to do in her life. This was the first time in two years that she didn't wake up in Draco's arms, with him smiling down at her. Feeling something sticky, she moved her hands up to her face and groaned. The tears were stuck to her face. There were already fresh tears in her eyes, reaching her cheeks. They were heated, almost scorching to the touch. Quickly running into the bathroom she threw up. After flushing the toilet, she brushed her teeth using the toothbrush Sirius had given her the night before, and washed her face, but she didn't even bother to look into the mirror. She didn't want to know what she would see. Tonya without Draco just shouldn't exist. It wasn't right. Not bothering to brush her hair she stayed in the pajamas that Hermione loaned her, and grabbed the photo album. Luckily for her, Draco also thought to make it waterproof, or her tears would have ruined it over the night – then she really would have hated herself. Making sure it was tiny once again, Tonya placed it in the short's pocket then left the room.

"Wotcher," Tonks greeted her as she sat at the table. Tonks looked like a mixture between relieved, frightened, and ecstatic.

Faking a smile, Tonya replied in a tired drawl, "Morning."

"Have some breakfast, dear," Molly was the same as in her time. She never bothered to leave her mother role.

Allowing Molly to shove a full plate filled with eggs, toast, and sausages, along with a bowl of porridge in front of her, Tonya politely thanked her then started to take tiny bites out of the toast. She just didn't feel like eating. She felt like throwing up again. "Is everyone ready to start planning then?" she asked the full table.

"Someone's eager to get to business," teased Kingsley.

Knowing that he was just teasing her, Tonya forced out a chuckle. Did everyone just look happy to see her chuckle? "Well yes Kingsley," she replied, "Harry them return back to Hogwarts tomorrow. We need to discuss this as soon as possible."

"Very well then," Mad Eye nodded his head. "I like you, girl. I'm only sorry that I haven't met you in the future. We all talked after you went to bed, and we've come to an agreement. You should be the head of these meetings."

"Me?" glad for an excuse to push away the food, Tonya didn't see the quirky eyebrow conversation that Remus and Sirius both seemed to be sharing at the moment. "But isn't it always Professor Dumbledore, Kingsley, or yourself?"

"On usual circumstances," Dumbledore nodded his head in his response. "But as you already know Tonya, this is anything but normal, and you are the leader in these missions. We leave the floor to you."

"Oh-" Tonya searched the table for someone who didn't look too happy about this, but she didn't see anyone who looked annoyed. In fact, they all looked… are they proud of her? "Well… err… thanks then."

Taking a sip of his orange juice, Fred said, "Right so last night, we left off with all of us back in Hogwarts, Bill taking you into Gringotts when the time comes, and Dumbledore taking you and Bill with him to go fetch the ring. So now what?"

"Right," Tonya nodded her head, eager to get right back into the planning. She noticed the concerned way that Sirius continued to stare at her, but she didn't bother to think that his room is right next to hers, allowing him to hear her sobbing loudly the night before; cursing texting and milk. "Everyone who works at the Ministry, continue doing so. But be careful. Right now the Minister is too scared to admit that Voldemort's alive. He hates Dumbledore and Harry – as you guys already know. Kingsley, he looks up to you a great amount. Just keep doing whatever it is you're doing with him, and he'll never suspect anything. Arthur, you need to be extremely careful; you're known as one of the biggest blood traitors, and soon you'll be wanted for dead. Nobody speak to Mundungus Fletcher – well no… that wouldn't work, he'll get suspicious. He's supposed to be on your side for now. Talk to him, but just don't speak the truth. Harry, Snape, did you two start practicing yet?"

They both nodded their heads, and Tonya could see the bags beneath Harry's eyes. She felt guilty that he would be undergoing more stress now than he originally would have this year, and she only prayed that he would forgive her in the future. "I managed to get a couple seconds into Snape's memory, but I couldn't block well enough. We're going to rehearse more today."

"Is this dangerous?" Tonya asked Snape, "Practicing too much? As much as I want Harry to perfect it within these next weeks, I don't want him getting hurt. Will this hurt him?"

Looking over at Harry, who seemed to be more touched than annoyed about Tonya caring for his wellbeing, Snape shook his head. "He will have the occasional migraine, but he will be fine. We have potions for that."

"Thanks you guys," Tonya smiled at them then returned to addressing the entire table once more. "Alright… so the ring and goblets are taken care of. Harry, you'll feel an almost tingling sensation in your scar, as if its talking to you when you're near the Horcruxes, because remember, you're one yourself. The diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw is in the Room of Requirement. Just think of it and you'll find it. Sirius, Kreacher has the locket because your brother Regulus was the one who originally stole it. Be warned, I want nobody putting it on. Remember, it made Ron turn against Harry and Hermione while he wore it. It twists your every thought. Then that leaves Nagini, who we can't touch until at the Ministry. And Harry. Are you sure about this, Harry?"

Nodding his head, Harry looked confident. "I'm not gonna lie, I'm nervous, but I can do this."

"I thought there were seven?" questioned a confused McGonagall. "I only counted six."

"Tom Riddle's diary from second year," Tonya reminded them, noticing the shiver that Ginny just had. "From the Chamber of Secrets. Harry destroyed it then."

"Ah, right!"

"Okay, now I don't want to make a complete difference in my time. I want some things to somewhat remain the same, but I don't know how us doing things planned will affect most of the players."

"What are you talking about?" Ron was confused.

"While you guys are on the hunt for Horcruxes, Luna is taken from Hogwarts, and Dean is found while on the run. They became prisoners of war, and it toughens them both up more than you'll ever know. They both killed in the war… including Luna. Once they were rescued from the Malfoy manor, along with you three, they returned back to Hogwarts, training with the DA. Seamus and Neville fought against the Carrows, refusing to torture first years like they were assigned to do. They suffered any curse imaginable as a detention, and both earned Merlin first class. Neville was even the one who took over the DA, training them with Ginny and Luna by his side, but it was him who took charge of things once Ginny was forced to go into hiding with the rest of the Weasleys and Luna was taken. When Voldemort returned to the school with Harry – who he believed to be dead – Neville stood up against Voldemort. The sorting hat was set on fire on his head when he turned down the offer to become a Death Eater. He didn't care if he was killed; he refused to allow Voldemort to win. Later, he managed to pull the sword of Gryffindor out of the hat, and it was him who killed Nagini. I don't want him to miss out on knowing how strong he really is."

Snape shocked everyone when he flashed a real, genuine smile. "Longbottom," he shook his head. "I always knew he would be like his parents."

"Then we'll tell Neville what's going on," Harry suggested.

Remus shook his head, "What Tonya fears is that originally, Neville killed Nagini, and stepped up because he was brave enough to do so. He did it on his own, whereas if we were to tell him about his future, he might let it get to him. Although I doubt Neville will actually allow that to happen, it might be one of the changes that we fear."

"Then we don't tell him, but we continue to make sure he's with us each step of the way," suggested Ron.

"He would be killed in an instant if we don't tell him anything," Hermione shook her head. "We can't not tell him anything, but we can't tell him either; then again we can't not let him fight with us, because then he'll never know his true destiny."

Rubbing her forehead, Tonya tried to think about it. "Okay, this is fifth year – Blaise is already with Seamus. Neville and Luna? No… no, that's not until after the war. Maybe… no, that won't work… urgh…"

"Care to tell us what you're debating about?" George chuckled. He liked this girl. She was amusing to watch.

After banging her head against the table a couple of times, Tonya looked back up, and frowned. "This is fifth year. Blaise and Seamus started dating at the beginning of the year. Maybe we could get them two – no, not them two. Blaise would tell Draco, and we can't let him know anything. Go to Seamus, tell him everything. If he doesn't believe you – which I doubt he will, because right now he still isn't too keen on Harry – I have a picture you guys can show to him for proof. And just tell him that you guys know of him and Blaise. Before you leave, I'll fill you in on how they came to be. Let him know how important it is that he doesn't tell Blaise anything. Also because Blaise is being just as tortured as Draco is, Voldemort might get it out of him."

"I still can't believe Seamus is gay," scoffed Hermione, "And dating Zabini of all people. I mean, I always thought him and Dean if anything."

"Dean's about to be with Ginny," Tonya shook her head.

Again, Ginny blushed. "So what do we do about Neville then? And Luna?"

Tonya tried to think about it, but everything in her body was shouting at her to tell them. It wouldn't change them in the future. "Do it," she ended up saying, not really knowing what caused her to give the order. "Tell them everything. Get Neville, Luna, and Seamus together; alone, and tell them everything. Something's telling me that it's the right thing to do; that they won't change their attitude in the future. Just like how I know it's safe to tell all of you. None of you guys are going to switch to the dark side or let the fame get to your heads. I trust them to do the same."

"Do you truly believe that?" it was McGonagall who questioned her.

Nodding her head, she pressed her lips together. "Right now every bone in my body believes that. I'm going to go with what my gut's telling me."

McGonagall stood up, and helped Molly move everything into the kitchen. They both knew that there wasn't really much for either of them to contribute. Not yet at least. Just like in the real world, they wouldn't show up until the final battle was about to take place. Not to mention they both found it hard to face Tonya. Although the younger generation didn't understand it completely, all the adults knew just exactly how much Tonya would be sacrificing. When she returns back to her own time, she'll remember everything that had happened. She'll remember things from her old life, from when she was in the past, and then she'll be stuck in a time where the love of her life doesn't even know she exists. Instead of choosing to live in a world where her husband is dead, and she has all her friends to support her, she's creating a world where her husband doesn't know who she is and she doesn't have any more of her friends.

They were all told that it was Harry who performed the spell for her to get sent to the past, and that he'll be waiting for her to return back home, but things will be different. Harry will be the only one who fully understands what happened. He'll be the only one who shares memories of a different future with her. When Fred died it was George and Angelina who saved each other from depression. They fell in love while supporting the other. But now that Fred would live, George and Angelina would never learn their true feelings for the other. Bill being attacked by Greyback is what helped him to realize that Fleur loves him because of her own true self and not just her Veela half. Sirius's death is what made Harry become as strong as he is, and Dumbledore's death is what caused everyone to break down and train even harder. By changing the past, the future would never be the same. It wasn't as simple as Tonya led her younger friends to believe. It was obvious in her eyes though – if you looked into them. She knew what she would return to. She would have to live with the memories of George being engaged to Angelina, as well as Fred being with Angelina. She would go from her friends in her time, to the outcome of how they turn out after she returns. The worst part – she'll be alone in it all.

"I need to be careful when I go out of this place," Tonya advised everyone. "I can't risk anyone seeing me wearing this ring. It hasn't left the Malfoy vault until Draco told his parents he was going to propose to me."

"But there's an added addition to it," Ginny pointed out. She looked closer at it, squinting her eyes, "But it's still recognizable as the Malfoy ring."

Smiling, Tonya twisted the ring around again. She wanted to look at it as much as she could before it would disappear from her forever. "You helped him, you know, Ginny."

"Helped him with what?" it was Tonks who asked.

"Picking out the muggle ring," Tonya smiled; eyes threatening to drown her once more. "He went to Ginny for help. He was really nervous, and he called you for help. You took him to a total of thirty-seven muggle ring shops before he found this one-" her eyes went up to Kingsley now, "And you were the one to bind us," she smiled. "Since I was the first muggle to ever marry into the Malfoys, Lucius blessed us as Draco asked you to bind the muggle ring into the Malfoy ring. It was a symbol of muggles and Malfoys joining to become one."

Everyone saw how Ginny's eyes fogged up with excitement as she was told that she helped to pick out the muggle engagement ring. Kingsley simply nodded his head with a sincere smile, "We'll figure something out Tonya. I'm looking forward to binding those two rings together once again."

"It's alright," she shook her head. "Harry already promised me that because I brought the album with me, I'll never lose the pictures. I may not have anything to return back to, but I'll still have my pictures with me… and my memories."

Tonya was sitting between Hermione and Fred this morning. They both placed a hand on each shoulder. "Don't worry Tonya," Fred smiled down at her, "You'll have us when you go back."

"That's right," smiled Hermione as well. "We'll know who you are in the future, because well… because we know who you are right now."

Tonya froze in her spot. "That's right. How… how could I forget about that? But Harry told me that only he would know everything."

"Everything from your guys' time," Mad Eye informed her. "But all of us here… this will forever be etched into our memory. We'll know."

This news excited Tonya. Maybe she wouldn't lose everything? But then her excitement quickly died out. But she will lose everything. She'll have all these people, but she'll never have Draco. It won't be the same. She'll still have her friends, but she won't have her everything. As wrong as it sounded; she would rather have Draco than any of these people. She had only Draco for six months before she had them. And now… now she would only have them. The twisted irony of it sickened her.

It was Ron who saw the excitement quickly die in her eyes, as her face looked ready to vomit. He figured out what she was thinking about, and cleared his throat to grab the attention of everyone else in the room. Soon enough, they all figured it out too. They were saddened once again. "So Tonya," Ron said, trying to pull her thoughts out of its depression. "What are you going to do while we're training at Hogwarts?"

"Train everyone here," her eyes frightened everyone. In an instant they were blank. One moment they were filled with fear, anger, pain… now they showed nothing. They were just blank. She was shutting out her emotions. "Remus, Sirius, Charlie, and Bill, you'll all stay here with me. We'll go over everything more and more. Professor Dumbledore, once you notify us that you're able to retrieve the ring, Bill and I will accompany you. Tonks, you'll stay here as well, but we need you more in Hogwarts than with us. You guys need to prepare the DA as much as possible. I'm hoping that it doesn't happen, but if Voldemort finds out what's going on, he may take the war to Hogwarts, just as he did in the seventh year."

Mad Eye nodded his head, "This is extremely crucial everybody. Nothing can go wrong. One wrong step and this plan will be ruined. What Tonya is trying to do is have us take the war to Voldemort before he expects it."

"What will we do with all the Horcruxes once we collect them all?" asked Charlie.

"Keep them here," turning to Sirius, Tonya bowed her head to show that she didn't mean to disrespect him, "That is of course, if it's alright with you, Sirius?"

"Of course," Sirius smiled warmly at her. He admired her in so many ways. So young, so many battles, so many losses. She didn't fight the way Harry had to, but she fought just as much; if not even more. "We'll keep them in one of the spare rooms."

"Order Kreacher to stay away from that room then," she nodded her head at him. "He wouldn't betray you; I just don't want him touching anything in case he gets affected by the curses."

"When do we destroy them?" asked Harry.

"When we take the battle to the Ministry. This is the most important part of the plan. On that night Voldemort will send you a vision, Harry; he'll show you him torturing Sirius. Alert us when it happens, and you guys rush down to the Ministry. The Death Eaters will be waiting because it's a trap, but we'll come in; and everyone will be ready for it this time, so it shouldn't be too bad. Kill as much of them as possible-"

"Even Lucius?"

Turning to Snape who asked the question, she slowly nodded her head – her throat tightening, "He'll try to kill you if you don't kill him. Voldemort will arrive, but Harry, you'll be ready for him this time. We'll destroy the Horcruxes while you're battling him – the ones that we have collected at least. Oh and that reminds me. Harry, could you go back into the chambers at the school, and retrieve a couple fangs from the basilisk?"

"We'll do it," Ron volunteered, "All of Harry's free time should be spent training with Snape and training the DA. Besides you said that it was me and Hermione who went down, and got it right?"

Chuckling, Tonya nodded her head, "Alright then. You and Hermione can grab them. Grab as much as you can so I can stab two at a time; or for backup in case one of the Death Eaters take one from me or something."

"You're going to destroy them, then?" McGonagall and Molly have returned already, and McGonagall was frightened for the girl's plan. "Isn't it dangerous enough for you to be with us?"

Nodding her head, Tonya saw the wary look in everyone's eyes. "None of you can do it. Harry will be battling Voldemort, and everyone else will be fighting Death Eaters. I'm the only one who can't face off with a Death Eater, so I'll be the one to destroy the Horcruxes, but Harry be warned, you weaken with each one I destroy as well."

"But I need Voldemort to kill me either way, right?" when Tonya nodded her head, Harry nodded his as well, "Then I'll be fine."

"I got it," Ginny nearly jumped out of her seat with excitement. "We'll have Neville kill Nagini, just the way he was meant to. The Horcruxes will be destroyed in the same order as from your time right Tonya?"

"Yeah."

"So once Harry returns back to life, we'll go for Nagini. Then Neville can kill her."

"That's actually quite brilliant Ginny!"

"Way to go Gin!"

"Smart thinking Ginny!"

After more praises, Ginny's face was flushed with her embarrassment. "Thanks guys," she muttered, sinking lower into her seat.

"Now I'm not going to lie," whispered a grim American accent. "I don't know how this will turn out. I don't want you guys to think I came back with all of you in my mind. I want all to know that I am being purely selfish. I came back to protect Draco. Granted, I want to save all of you as well. I really do, but there is no guarantee that all of us will survive the battle. As prepared as we are and even though we're setting the trap; one of you may be hit off guard."

Everyone nodded their heads, and everyone smiled kindly at her. They could see the struggle in her face. It hurt her to admit it, but she didn't want to fool them. "We know," they all said in unison.

"We expected that much," Molly nodded her head.

"It just means that we need to train harder," announced a ready to battle, Harry Potter.

Hermione gently patted Tonya's shoulder, "We knew what we were getting into once you explained your reasoning for being here. We're prepared for whatever happens, Tonya."

"And if any of us die-"

"Again!" beamed Fred, who had already accepted his dying a hero status.

"-Then we know we died a hero, and doing the right thing."

Once again, they went straight into planning what they would do. It took another two hours before everyone split up into their own groups. Tonks went off with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and the twins; teaching them how to do a nonverbal spell. The three professors returned back to Hogwarts to prepare for the return to school the next day, after a couple more minutes of talking with the young window from the future. Molly, Arthur, Kingsley, and Mad Eye were all discussing what they would do, while Tonya sat with the remaining four. They went deeper into their own planning.

It was coming soon. Now that they were all starting to prepare; it seemed like only a week's difference between January and May. They had no time to waste. The battle was too close.

**A/N: Just 2 more chapters before they return to Hogwarts (: then it gets more exciting and whatnot. It's just that I have to go through all these explanation things first! Please review. What did you guys think of this chapter so far? Love it? Hate it? Too short? Hmm… don't be shy. Let me know what you think (:**


	6. Spoken Pictures

Spoken Pictures

They were all seated around the table once more. Molly and Arthur had already returned back to the Burrow; starting to get ready for what would come. Tonks had left for a couple hours, and returned with new clothing and a couple of extra things for Tonya. She felt that the future girl wouldn't want to have to keep borrowing clothes for her stay. Kingsley and Mad Eye returned back to the Ministry as well. It left only Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Bill, and Charlie with all the younger ones. Tomorrow everyone would leave back for Hogwarts, leaving only Tonya behind with the older witch and wizards. It felt odd to her. In her time the only people she knew were Bill and Charlie. The other three were all dead.

"What happened to my hair?" laughed Hermione. They were all seated around the long table, going through the pictures. They knew that Tonya didn't want to face pictures just yet, but she insisted on giving them a few to show to Seamus. She assumed Neville and Luna would like some as well.

Ron's eyes were wide as he stared at the picture in front of them. His freckles were shining so brightly, while his eyes stayed stuck on Hermione. He was wearing Auror robes, and had his arms wrapped around Hermione from behind, while she laughed about something. Her hair had been cut short up to her neck, reminding them all of Harry's hair. She had been wearing just a plain red dress. "Why are my arms wrapped around her like that?"

"Because you're engaged," Tonya rolled her eyes. "See look… look right there, on her finger."

"Oh," Ron blushed again. "I forgot about that."

Hermione blushed as well; also seeming to forget about that. "When was this taken?"

"We were at a company party thing," Tonya smiled thinking back to that night. "It was a month ago. You're laughing because Blaise just told a joke about something."

"Can we…?" Tonks trailed off for a bit, unsure if she really wanted to ask the question. They had spent the last ten minutes going through pictures, and she really wanted to see her son.

Understanding what Tonks was asking, Tonya smiled and nodded her head, "Yeah."

Tonks and Remus both gasped when they saw the picture. It was a tiny two year old boy running around a tiny apartment looking thing. He was barefooted, wearing only brown and white checkered shorts. His eyes were a dark red color, with a light turquoise spiky hair do. His face was well rounded, looking just like Remus, but with Tonks's features. He looked like them both. They all heard the breath get caught in Tonya's throat when they spotted the familiar – but nothing what they knew – platinum blonde run into the picture, chasing after the boy. The boy was laughing while the blonde looked annoyed. His face was drawn on by a variety of colored markers.

"I-I forgot about this picture," Tonya smiled through fresh tears again. Her fingers traced along the outline of Draco, causing him to stop chasing the boy and look up at her. When he spotted her he smiled and waved, before blowing a kiss and continuing the chase. "Draco and I were watching Teddy for Andromeda that day. Harry was at work that's why, and Draco had a day off. They both took a nap, and Teddy woke up before Draco. When Draco woke up he was covered completely in markers."

Tonks also had fresh tears as she watched her future son laughing and running around. He seemed to be living in such a carefree world. "He's so beautiful."

"And he takes after you, Tonks," Remus's eyes were also on the verge of tears, "Just look at his hair and his eyes."

"He prefers blue hair," Tonya smiled, quickly turning the page and searching for a picture of just Teddy. "Here, this one's of just him."

"Wow guys," Ginny smiled up at the stunned Remus and Tonks. "Your son's a handsome little bugger, ain't he?"

Laughing, Harry noticed the way the boy in the picture was sticking his tongue out at all of them. "That's my little godson for you."

"He can talk too," Tonya began to fill them in on their son, "It's mostly small sentences and big words. His favorite though is; prat. George taught him how to say that. Poor thing's convinced that Ron is really Uncle Prat."

"Oi!" Ron shouted, reaching over and slapping the cackling George.

"Yep, that sounds like me."

"He tends to steal everyone's brooms; especially Harry's, Ginny's, and Draco's, just last week as a matter of a fact, we couldn't find him. We were going crazy. Harry and Draco called in every Auror to help search for him. Ron and Seamus found him three hours later, flying Ginny's broom over the black lake at Hogwarts. He flew from mine and Draco's apartment to Hogwarts."

Tonks and Remus both paled, while everyone else was laughing. "He gets that from Moony," teased Sirius.

"What's his favorite food?" asked Tonks.

Smiling, Tonya thought back to the two year old that she and Draco loved so much. "Noodles; just simply noodles – he throws the biggest tantrums when it comes to noodles."

After filling them in on everything there is to know about Teddy Lupin, Tonya moved on to the next couple; Hermione and Ron. They saw how quick she was to avoid any group pictures, and didn't question it or stop her. They knew she had her reasons. Ron and Hermione found their cheeks burning through the entire time it was focused on just them. There were pictures of them snogging, drinking wine, sitting in each other's lap, holding onto each other, being with Teddy; doing just about everything a happy couple does together.

"Oh, that's me!" Ginny squealed, turning it back to a quickly turned page. Her face went red as soon as she realized she was alone with Draco in the picture. "Oh, sorry!"

Staring at the picture, Tonya watched as teardrops fell onto the page. She smiled. "I remember this day."

_Three months had gone by since Draco and Tonya had gotten married. Everyone came over that day. Ginny had a break from her world famous Quidditch team, and all the Aurors were off of work. George had even closed the joke shop down for the day, so Tonya was off as well. Blaise decided to tell Kingsley he wasn't feeling well enough to go into work. Hermione, Ron, and Harry were all discussing something that had happened the night before, while Tonya laughed about something with Blaise and Seamus. They were telling her about the night that Filch had caught them in a broom closet during their seventh year. He was too scared to turn them in, realizing that they would both be murdered if their relationship had been caught._

_ "Draco," Ginny whined, dropping her entire body onto the couch. Placing her feet into Draco's lap, she shut her eyes, "My feet are killing me."_

_ Rolling his eyes, Draco instantly began to massage the girl's feet. "Doesn't your job require you to be on a broom all day?"_

_ "Normally," she nodded her head, "But Gwenog is mental. She makes us spend half the day running around the Quidditch field on our feet. I didn't come home until late last night, and Harry was already sleeping."_

_ "So you go to the only married man in the room to massage your feet," he teased her. He laughed when Ginny opened one eye to stick her tongue at him._

_ "This is cute," Harry grinned, walking over to them with a camera in his hands, "Smile guys."_

_ "Go away Harry," Ginny groaned, not feeling in the mood to take a picture. "I look like crap."_

_ "You never look like crap, darling," Harry rolled his eyes._

_ Laughing, Draco shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know Harry. Her hair's starting to remind me of Hermione back in school."_

_ "Oi!" shouted Hermione, walking over to the couch, "I thought we made an agreement. You don't mention my hair, and I don't mention that you were a fe – oh Merlin, Ginny."_

_ Ginny did in fact look somewhat like crap. Her eyes showed that she hadn't slept in a while, with her cinnamon colored hair sticking out in every angle. She kept it down; allowing it to fall just above her waist, but it was as bushy as Hermione's once used to be. She was wearing a large Holyhead Harpies jersey, showing that she was too lazy to unpack her clothing, and a pair of Harry's sweats. Draco, on the other hand, had his hair brushed back neatly, but still falling into his face with his eyes so full of life and energy – nothing like what they remembered from school. He was wearing a black tank top, showing off his every bulging muscle, and a pair of black basketball shorts. Harry snapped the picture of Draco massaging Ginny's feet while she stuck her tongue out at him, and tried to hide her hair beneath her hands._

"Your husband massaged Harry's fiancée's feet?" questioned a confused Ron. He had an eyebrow cocked while scratching his hair.

Nodding her head, Tonya smiled down at the picture. Draco was now winking at her, while Ginny continued to prevent her nest of hair to be seen. "The golden trio was still best of friends, and I instantly clicked with the gay couple. Ginny always felt like a fourth wheel with you three, and Draco felt like a fourth wheel with me and the other two. Ginny hadn't gone on adventures with you guys, and Draco had nothing to compare himself to a chick or two gay guys. They became each other's best friend. Some nights the two of them would have what they called their escape nights."

"I didn't know you felt like that, Gin?" Ron turned to his baby sister.

Nodding her head, Ginny felt the tears sting her eyes. But this time she cried for a future best friend that she would no longer have once they changed it. Apparently she and Draco were close. Something she never had. She wondered how her future self was taking his death right now. Her eyes glanced over at Harry and Hermione. Is it the same? "So Malfoy and I, eh?"

Chuckling, Tonya smiled at the girl. She saw Ginny's thoughts flash through her eyes. Truth be told, she did feel sorry for the future Ginny right now as well. There was no doubt that she was taking Draco's death extremely hard right now. "You guys remind everyone of Harry and Hermione. Not so much Ron and Hermione because they end up engaged, but like Harry and Hermione."

An hour was spent with pictures of Harry and Ginny. Harry's hair was still the same, as well as everything about him. In some pictures he would be wearing his Auror robes, and in others he would be wearing muggle clothing. Ginny's hair had grown longer over the years, with her curves showing more and more. She would vary from her Quidditch uniform to muggle clothing as well. Their pictures would bounce from America to the Ministry, to Grimmauld Place, the Burrow and everywhere else that Ron and Hermione also had their pictures taken. They had lots of pictures with Teddy as well.

The room fell silent when a page opened to reveal a very beautiful blonde woman with singing blue eyes. Silver hair flowed to the middle of her back while she sported a tiny little baby bump. The red head behind her kept a serious gaze on the baby bump, while his hands caressed it and a smile over took his face. It was his face that caused the silence though. Claw marks that took up half of it stood out to everyone in the room… everyone aside from the scarred man in the picture.

"Damn!" Charlie let out a whistle. "That's some scar bro."

Bill didn't even notice the scar. He was too busy focusing on the beautiful Veela in his arms, and the place his hands were holding. "I-I-I-"

Tonya laughed. "Oh right. How the hell can I forget that? Fleur's four months pregnant right now. This picture was taken a week ago. It's a girl."

Everyone congratulated Bill while he continued to stare with a dropped jaw. "I-I-I- and with F-Fleur… what?"

"Don't worry," Tonya assured him, "You'll get used to it. You had that same reaction when she told you she was pregnant. Teddy loves it too. He's excited to have another kid to play with. We're already making bets on the two of them falling in love. He refuses to leave Fleur's side, and we think it has to do with the baby's Veela blood recognizing him as her mate."

Remus sheepishly grinned when Bill released a human growl at him. He hadn't even met the Veela yet, but he was already feeling protective of his future unborn daughter. "I'm sorry?" what else was Remus supposed to say about the son, that he would never get to watch grow up, becoming a future unborn child's Veela mate?

The shock of the pregnancy quickly surpassed the shock of the scar. The next pictures were of Neville and Luna. Everyone still couldn't believe it. Tonya explained to them how Neville realized his love for Luna during the war, just like Ron and Hermione. It was hard to believe such a thing, but the pictures brought pleased smiles to everyone's faces. Neville and Luna were both happy, and they could all see it. Tonya told them all about the wedding of Neville and Luna, and said that it was seven months after hers and Draco's wedding. They were stunned to see that Neville was no longer the short and chunky boy they went to school with. He slimmed as he grew upwards, with a hardened face. His chin was covered in stubble. And though he had a kindness in his eyes still, they could see how much the war has affected him. As well as Luna; she had seen death and she had killed. They could see it in her eyes, in her smile. They grew up.

"Blaise and Seamus," Tonya grinned, turning the page on her two best friends. Everyone gasped when they saw them. They had matching gold rings on their wedding fingers, while Seamus leaned against a kitchen counter and held onto Blaise. They were looking down at each other, and smiling while Tonya stood next to them, shouting something at the person outside of the picture. "You guys can take this one," she said.

"Are you sure we need three pictures of Luna and Neville?" asked Hermione.

Nodding her head, Tonya added this picture of her two best friends along with the three pictures of the only other married straight couple. One was of their wedding, while another was of just them two, and the third was a group shot. "Make sure that nobody else other than you guys sees this picture. Draco's in it as well that's why."

"We don't need to take one of Draco," Ginny said, trying to hand the picture back.

"You do," Tonya sighed. "They need to believe you that they become friends with Draco. Pictures are the only way," scanning through the book some more, she pulled out five more pictures of Seamus and Blaise. "Show these to Seamus as well. But make sure he doesn't show them to Blaise. Draco's in these ones as well. And like I already stated, Blaise can't know anything."

They continued catching glimpses of Tonya's own wedding pictures, and pictures of just the Malfoys; even a couple few of Tonya with her in-laws, but she refused to show those ones. The only pictures that she would allow them to see of Draco were if they had to see it because it was him with them or a group shot. But Tonya skipped her wedding all completely. It was Fred who asked to see George and Angelina. George made jokes of himself having only one ear, while Fred made jokes of seeing what he looks like when he's older.

It was hard for all of them… looking at pictures of their future, but they couldn't begin to contemplate what it meant for her. Here she was showing it to them. If it was hard for them to see it, what the hell was going through her mind?

_"Excuse me! Excuse me!" Ginny ran up to a random muggle on the street. _

_ "Yeah?" he looked no older than sixteen._

_ "Could you take a picture of all of us please?" she asked him with an excited smile. "We're out to celebrate my engagement. Three of my best friends all got married you see, and my brother is engaged, and now I'm engaged as well."_

_ Laughing, the teenager smiled and took the camera. "Well congratulations then. To all of you!"_

_ "Thank you."_

_ Ginny ran back to Harry who quickly lifted her up into his arms. She was wearing a long golden gown which reached her ankles; the thin straps pressed tightly against her shoulders. Smiling at Ginny, Harry held her hand with the ring; the golden ring with the maroon emerald in it. Neville was standing behind Luna as well – a position that all the couples were in – his arms wrapped comfortably around her waist. Her long blonde hair fell to her thighs, with her favorite radish earrings dangling from her ears. Her dress reached just below her knees, falling gracefully from her neck with curled powder blue folds. Her maroon and powder blue wedding ring rested against Neville's linked fingers. Hermione had been wearing a long sleeved maroon colored dress that hugged her body tightly, showing off curves that even she didn't know she had, stopping between her knees and her thighs. Ron's hands held hers in front of them to show off the maroon colored ring with the golden pearl in the center of it. Tonya's hair fell in curls, resting on her shoulders. The emerald green dress she wore was completely strapless hugging her body to her thighs. Her dress was the simplest out of the rest. She and Draco were smiling at each other. Seamus stood behind Blaise, although because of their height difference, Seamus came a little more to the side to be seen. All the males were wearing black suits, with ties the opposite color of their wives or fiancées. Harry wore maroon since Ginny wore gold. Neville wore gold since Luna wore powder blue for her own house. Ron wore gold seeing as how Hermione wore maroon. Draco wore silver; while Blaise wore gold for Seamus, and Seamus wore silver for Blaise. _

"Why are we all dressed up?" Ginny asked, accepting the picture from Sirius. It had been passed around the group.

"Harry had just proposed the night before," Tonya smiled as she remembered that night, "We all went out to celebrate. Draco and I were already married, as well as Luna and Neville, and Blaise and Seamus. Hermione and Ron were already engaged too. You guys were the last to get rings, and we all went out to celebrate."

"Is that why you're all holding out your rings?" questioned Tonks.

Laughing, Tonya wiped the tears away. "It was the guys' idea. They wanted to show off their handy work. See how they planned the rings?"

"They're all colored to the houses," Charlie nodded his head. "Why didn't Ron give Hermione the Weasley ring?"

"Bill gave it to Fleur," Tonya winked. "And Harry felt Ginny deserved something new. He wasn't raised to believe in wizard traditions, and he believes in the muggle way of buying a new ring to propose. So he got a gold ring with a maroon colored ruby to represent them. He felt it would be more personal."

"That is," Ginny hugged Harry, "I love it. Thanks Harry."

Noticing a now maroon faced Harry, Tonya quickly continued, "And Ron felt the same way. Hermione is a muggle-born, and takes enormous pride in that. So he brought a maroon colored gold with a golden pearl in it. He did the muggle version for her, but added in his wizard world, because well… muggles don't have maroon gold or golden pearls. And if you guys notice, we all color coded our outfits to the same degree."

"I like that," Ron smiled, avoiding looking at Hermione; scared that he would show his true emotions just by staring at her, "Mixing in muggle ways with wizarding ways. I'm shocked that Neville got a muggle ring though. He and Luna are both purebloods."

"He didn't want to insult Luna's dad by turning down the Lovegood family ring, and insult his grandma by turning down the Longbottom ring. Each party wanted him to give her their family ring, and he didn't know which one to choose without insulting the other. And he knows how much Luna loves odd things, so he brought a muggle ring as well. Both being purebloods; the idea of a muggle ring is extremely odd. He made gold for himself, with the powder blue for her; bringing Gryffindor and Ravenclaw together."

Ginny and Hermione both got dreamy looks on their faces as they thought about it. "I bet Luna loved that," they both sighed.

Catching the frightened look on all the males faces, Tonya couldn't help but to laugh. "Yeah, she did. She wanted to call Kingsley in that moment, and marry Neville right then and there."

**A/N: I just thought this was a really cute chapter, and it shows a little bit of Tonya, and Draco's life(: hmm so next chapter they return to Hogwarts! Please review, they complete me :3**


	7. The Lion Fancies The Snake

The Lion Fancies The Snake

It's been three days since they've been back at Hogwarts, and their lives had never been more awkward until these last three days. Snape continued to take away points from Gryffindor simply just for breathing, while McGonagall continued to remain stern. Once they returned they had all confronted Neville and Luna, who were both quick to accept everything. Pulling them into the Room of Requirement for a quick meeting, they showed the pictures and told them everything that Tonya had told them. Luna blushed while Neville looked ready to faint, but they accepted it. Instantly, they began to train even harder.

It hadn't been so easy to get to Seamus though. Seamus was always missing whenever they looked for him. He never returned to the common rooms, and there was never enough time to talk to him in class. It was as if he had become elusive. The next DA meeting wasn't ready to start up for another week, but Tonks continued to come for nonverbal spell meetings during the nights. Remus came with her once already, and Neville and Luna came as well. Harry missed those trainings though, because his nights were spent in the dungeons with Snape. He was slowly getting a hang on it. It was still hard for him to keep Snape out of his thoughts, but he could now last a whole minute before Snape blocked him out of his mind. Ever since Tonya brought out the true feelings of Snape, things had been less tense between them. Snape even helped him with his assignments on those late nights.

Tonks would deliver messages back and forth between the castle and Tonya, and they learned that she still cried herself to sleep at night. Sirius explained to everyone how he could hear her through the walls late at night. It's like she waits until she thinks everyone else is asleep before she starts to cry. They're at least glad to see that she's mourning at night, because in the morning when she isn't mourning, she's planning on how to break into Gringotts with Bill. She doesn't slow down for any breaks. She's a mad widow on a mission, and even Mad Eye is starting to fear her ambition. Not in a fearing way that she can't be trusted, but in a fearing way that he would hate to be Voldemort. None of them had any doubt that she wouldn't try to kill him herself.

"I just don't get why we can't tell Malfoy anything," Ron whispered in the library that afternoon. "I don't see why she has to return to a future where he doesn't know her?"

Hermione shook her head, and whispered back, "She's doing this to protect him, Ron."

"I get that," he rolled his eyes back at her. "But what does that have to do with anything? How does him not knowing about her protect him?"

"Because he doesn't start to change how he feels about muggles until next year, so as long as he doesn't show any emotions towards them until we kill-"

In that moment, Harry entered the library with a disgruntled looking Seamus Finnigan – the five foot two Irish wizard who didn't make it unknown that he didn't care too much for Harry, mainly because his mum listens to the _Daily Prophet_ than any other reason. His shamrock eyes looked annoyed as he was being dragged into the library's corner by the boy he hated. His muggle buzzed sandy colored hair reminded Hermione of sandpaper, but she never told him that in fear of how he would react. Quickly saying a silencing spell so they wouldn't be overheard, Harry released Seamus.

"What the bloody 'ell, 'Arry," Seamus shouted, rubbing the area of his arm that the-boy-who-lived just released. "Why the 'ell did you just grab me arm like that?"

Rubbing his forehead, Harry shook his head at his concerned friends. It wasn't pain from Voldemort; it was a headache from Seamus. "Sorry Seamus," he shrugged his shoulders. "But I needed to talk to you, and you wouldn't listen to me."

"Then what is it eh? I got things to do."

"Like meeting up with Blaise?"

As soon as he heard the Slytherin's name leave Hermione's mouth, Seamus began to stammer, "What… err… 'uh… I-I-I… umm… erm… well… what?"

"That's what we needed to talk to you about, Seamus," Harry sighed. "But don't get us wrong. We don't care about you and Zabini. Congratulations and everything. We just really need to talk to you about something. And in a sense it concerns the both of you."

Rocking from his heels to his toes, Seamus nodded his head. "What is it?"

The golden trio, along with Ginny all glanced around the library. They didn't have to worry about being overheard because of the spell, but they didn't want to chance the pictures being seen. Explaining to Seamus that they needed to be absolutely alone, they quickly made their way to the Room of Requirement. After thinking about needing a place to be alone to talk to Seamus, three times while pacing in front of the room, a door appeared. The red faced Seamus followed them all in to the room. Where they were so used to seeing a training area, there was now a table with chairs around it.

"We met this girl," Ginny spoke up first. "She's from the year 2000, two years after Harry kills Voldemort."

"Let me guess," Seamus scoffed, "She told you all about me and Blaise, did she?"

They all nodded their heads, "Actually yes. She says that you two are married, but like I said," added Harry, "This isn't about you being with Zabini. This is about what else she had to tell us."

Seamus listened with wide eyes and disbelieving ears. It took nearly two hours for them to explain everything to him. By the time they had all finished, Seamus found himself laughing. They expected him to believe this? In the beginning they grabbed his attention because they mentioned Blaise, but this was too much. They expected him to believe that Malfoy married a muggle who traveled back in time just to save him because he was killed for betraying the Death Eaters? And that he and Blaise were best friends to them? How mental did they think he was?

"Good story," Seamus continued laughing. "So how long did it take for you lot to come up with this then, eh? Is this payback for me going out with a Slytherin? 'Ow did you lot find out anyways, eh?"

Shaking his head, Ron reached into this pocket of his robes and pulled out the pictures that Tonya gave to them to show Seamus for proof. "She gave us these pictures to show you in case you don't believe us."

Taking the pictures from Ron, Hermione shoved one under Seamus's nose. As his eyes grew wide, she smiled. "Only one picture like this exists in our time. If you go to Blaise, he'll still have it. And this is a muggle picture, Seamus; you know that no magic has touched it. And you can tell by it being faded that it's years old."

"'Ow?" Seamus held the picture in his hands, "But 'ow… 'ow did you get this?"

"Malfoy was putting together the photo album as a gift for Tonya for her twentieth birthday. He went around asking for pictures. You and Zabini both gave this one to him," it was Ron who was explaining it to him now, "You wanted Tonya to have it because it symbolized your friendship or something like that. I don't know. When you meet her, she'll explain it further to you."

_Two months later, and they were still getting away with sneaking around. Seamus still couldn't believe how this had happened. They were on the train heading back to Hogwarts for their fifth year to begin. Leaving Dean back in the compartment they were sitting in, Seamus walked to the bathroom on his own. That was when Blaise Zabini cornered him. Never in his two years of being gay, had Seamus ever thought that the object of his boy on boy lust would feel the same way about him._

_ "What are you thinking about, love?" Blaise asked, cuddling in closer to Seamus's arms. They hadn't done anything sexually together; maybe the occasional snog, but that was it. They would however often sneak out into the Room of Requirement to be alone, and just hold onto each other; just another reason why Seamus hated the boy wonder. His bloody DA meetings meant he and Blaise had to find another place to sneak away to._

_ Pressing his lips to the top of his boyfriend's hair, Seamus grinned against the tiny nappy curls. "How much I still can't believe that you've been crushing on me as long as I've been crushing on you."_

_ Blaise snuggled in even closer. They were both fully clothed, and simply sitting on a couch together, but he loved to be in Seamus's arms. Seamus always made him feel so safe, and protected; like nothing could ever keep them apart. "What is it you muggles say, love? This is what dreams are made of?"_

_ Chuckling, Seamus nodded his head. "Yes babe, this is what dreams are made of."_

_ "I wish we could stay like this for eternity," Blaise sighed, never wanting to leave the comfort of his boyfriend's arms._

_ Agreeing with Blaise, Seamus had a sudden idea. "I know," he grinned, "Why don't we take a picture of us? Right now… but not a wizard photo – let's take a muggle picture of us, that way we can 'ave this moment frozen for the rest of eternity. There'll be only one copy though. But we can share it. This week you can 'ave it and then next week I'll 'ave it."_

"This was the first picture we ever took together," Seamus finally spoke. "And I gave it to 'er?"

Ginny nodded her head. "This is another picture. This one is from your wedding. It's you and Zabini. Then this one is of you and Zabini with me and Hermione."

"This is Tonya," Ron explained showing the picture from Tonya's kitchen. "See look, it's you and Zabini, with her."

Grabbing a picture that he saw on the side, Seamus picked it up. There was a girl in the middle; the girl that Ron called Tonya. She had the Malfoy ring on her finger, but there was something odd about it. She was wearing a tiny dress. The top part had been white, and strapless, while the bottom half beneath the chest was black. It was extremely short. She was laughing about something, while he was on one side of pulling her dress down, and Blaise was on the other side trying to pull it up. Her hands were covering her mouth as she continued to laugh. Or was she blushing? His eyes noticed the rings on his and Blaise's hands. He heard something about a wedding picture, but right now he was staring at their wedding bands.

"This one was apparently taken at the Malfoy manor," Ron explained the next one as well. "According to Tonya, you're the manlier one, and Zabini's the more feminine one in the relationship-" the smirk on Seamus's lips proved it for them, "Well there was a barbahoax thing-"

"Honestly Ron," Hermione sighed. "It's called a barbeque."

"Anyways," Ron continued as if he hadn't heard his future wife speak at all, "All the men; as in you, myself, Harry, Neville, and Malfoy were the ones working the grill thingy. And all the women; Zabini, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, and Tonya were sitting around watching us do our thing."

Seamus took in the picture. He saw the Tonya girl laying on a long chair with her head in Blaise's lap, while he stroked her hair, and laughing about something with Luna. Ginny and Hermione were both sitting on the grass, laughing as well. Tonya had her eyes over at the person taking the picture – making him wonder if Malfoy was the one who took the picture – but she was laughing as well. "So this Tonya bird then?" he looked back up at them, "You say she's married to Malfoy, and she's my best friend then, eh?"

"This is a group picture," Harry nodded, handing him the final picture. "All of us."

Seamus's eyes landed on Tonya with Malfoy. Yep. That's Malfoy alright. And this picture wasn't moving, proving that Malfoy took a muggle picture. So could it be? Could this all be true? "Fine," he sighed. "Tell me again. What do I have to do?"

Relief flooded the faces of the golden trio and Ginny – Seamus believed them. They had no doubt that it was the pictures that did it for him, but nonetheless he believed them. Once more, they explained all of it to him. From the plan to what's going to happen to the future. By the time they finished telling it this time, he was no longer laughing. Seamus Finnigan was now crying for his future best friend that he hadn't even met yet.

"We can't let that happen," he shook his head at them. "We can't not let Malfoy know who she is. 'E 'as to know 'er. 'E a's to meet 'er."

"That's what I said!" argued Ron.

"But we can't let it happen," Hermione groaned again. "Look guys. I'm only explaining it once. Tonya came back to us to protect Malfoy. _To protect him._ As in stop him from being killed. He was killed because he chose to side with us in the middle of the war. Towards the middle of next year, he started to feel a little on our side, but it wasn't until the middle of the war that he actually fought alongside us. They killed him because of that. What Tonya's doing now is making sure that Malfoy doesn't even know there's a war coming. This way he can't choose sides."

"And by not choosing sides, the Death Eaters will never know that he was on our side," added a gloomy Ginny. When she saw the bewildered looks both Ron and Seamus gave her, she shook her head. "None of us said it's a happy plan, but it's what she wants. Tonya's not giving up her husband just to have him be killed again."

Seamus was rubbing his face now with both his hands. "But there has to be something we can do. It sounds like she's giving up on too much things right now. We can't just let her return to a time without Malfoy in her life."

"That's what I said!" agreed Ron.

Sighing, Harry rubbed his face as well now. "It's what she wants, Seamus."

"No it's not!" Seamus shouted at them. Ron seemed to be the only one on his side right now. How could they not see the truth? "Would you want to live in a world where Ginny doesn't even know you exist, 'Arry?"

"If it meant that she wasn't dead," Harry nodded his head. But actually no… he didn't… the thought scared the hell out of him. He's had a minor more than a brother feeling towards her before he felt attracted to Cho, but he knew he would be willing to sacrifice everything if it meant that Ginny would be alive.

"Then we make sure no one knows that 'e's on our side. She's saving the lives of thousands, and we thank 'er by allowing 'er to lose Malfoy. We can prevent it now."

"No Seamus," Hermione shook her head. "Malfoy can't know anything. We can't tell him anything. And that goes for Zabini too."

"What?" his face was boiling now. They could actually see the blood moving around beneath his skin. "I can't tell Blaise? 'E's me boyfriend. Why the bloody 'ell not?"

It was Ron who answered this time. "According to Tonya, she knows Malfoy's side of the story as well as all of ours. Along with Zabini's – and from what she told us you already know this piece too – kids of the Death Eaters are being beaten by their parents, as well as all purebloods in general. And their minds are being looked into. Blaise is already taking some sort of potion every time he goes home just to erase you out of his mind, but if they get any information on this, they'll kill him without hesitation. We can't let him get killed, Seamus."

"By starting the war now instead of when it's supposed to happen, thousands of lives are actually being saved. If Voldemort or any of his followers catch wind of this right now, we may not be able to save anyone. He'll get an advantage on all of us."

"The only reason that Zabini doesn't become a Death Eater next year like Malfoy is because his mum took him on a vacation to the Zabini manor in France during the summer time. It prevented him from being hunted."

Seamus nodded his head to show that he understood. "She really 'as this all planned out then, don't she?" when everyone else nodded their heads, something struck his brilliant Irish little mind. "But wait," he quickly sat up straighter, and moved closer into everyone. "Malfoy doesn't become a Death Eater until the summer right, after the incident at the Ministry takes place? Once 'Arry kills Voldemort though, that'll never 'appen. 'E won't become a Death Eater."

Picking up on what Seamus was getting at, Ron was also excited. "Which means even if he's on our side during the battle at the Ministry, he won't be hunted by the other Death Eaters for betraying them. There are only twelve Death Eaters including Voldemort who will be there. None of them will even suspect going after him."

"Tonya will never go for it," Hermione shook her head. "I like it though. Malfoy wouldn't have to worry about anything. He wouldn't be a Death Eater. No tattoo or anything."

"You guys are forgetting one important detail though," Harry reminded them. When they all turned to look at him, he frowned. "This is the year that Malfoy wants to become a Death Eater. He still hates us. It isn't until he's assigned to kill Dumbledore that he actually starts to care for anything."

"He's right," Ginny groaned, slamming her head onto the table now. "And I doubt Malfoy will appreciate us walking up to him with pictures from the future of him and a muggle – an American muggle too, mind you."

Looking around the table, Seamus groaned as well. "And you only have one picture of him in it. It wouldn't be enough proof either way."

Seamus went silent after a while. The pictures all laughed and waved at him. They seemed to be having so much fun. None of them had any idea that in just a couple of months from when those were taken that one of their closest mates would be murdered because he turned his back on a life that everyone expected him to live. Seamus didn't really know Malfoy; or anything about him either. Blaise told him that Malfoy was the only person who knew he was gay, but he didn't tell him that they were together. Not yet at least. Malfoy didn't mind that Blaise was gay, and he even knew that Blaise had a crush on him (Seamus). But he didn't know about them yet. Blaise was too nervous to tell him that much. Then again nobody would have ever expected for one of the lions to fancy a snake.

**Sorry that this chapter is so short, but next chapter makes up for it when they finally start the action(: Thank you for all the reviews, favorites, and alerts so far! I love you all(:**


	8. The First Step

The First Step

Two weeks had gone by now, and Dumbledore's Army was growing stronger. No one knew the real reason of why Tonks was helping to teach nonverbal spells; no one except for whoever was a main part of the Order. Seamus didn't tell Blaise anything, but reminded him how much he loved him every day. Late night lessons continued every night as well: Harry in the dungeons with Snape, and the rest in the Room of Requirements with Tonks, and occasionally Remus. Harry got caught twice by Umbridge while leaving his Occlumency lessons with Snape, but claimed he had detention. He wasn't used to being caught walking around the school so late at night, but he loaned his invisibility cloak to Sirius for something, and the others had his map. He would rather himself get caught than a large group of his friends. That wouldn't help them keep their secrecy down.

"Watch it, _Mudblood!"_

Grunting on the floor that she was now sitting on, Hermione groaned. Cold icy grey eyes were glaring down at her. This was the Draco Malfoy she knew. Not the handsome and laughing version from the pictures. "Sorry Malfoy," it wasn't worth it to argue. Not when she knew all that she knew.

Snarling at her, Draco stormed away. These past two weeks had been so odd. None of the Weasleys threw tricks at him down the halls anymore, and Potter stopped glaring at him every second he could. And now… now Granger just apologized to him. They were planning something. He knew they were planning something… they had to be. Why else would they be so nice to him? Looking back one more time, he saw Finnigan and the girl Weasel helping Granger off the floor. He looked past Finnigan and saw Blaise watching him. He felt sorry for his mate. Blaise had been lying to Finnigan all these past months. Draco knew that they were dating, but Blaise kept insisting to Finnigan that he hadn't told him anything. Draco stopped snarling. What the hell was that? Did they… did they just look grim when they saw him staring at them? In a quick flash though, they turned away. Was that pity in their eyes? What the bloody hell was going on?

"It's too hard," Hermione groaned, allowing Ginny and Seamus to pull her away.

Flashing an apologetic look at a concerned Blaise, Seamus led Hermione towards the Gryffindor common room. "I know 'Ermione," he sighed. "But remember… it's crucial. We can't let 'im know we're on 'is side."

"But how do you do it?" she asked him. "How can you look at him every day knowing that in Tonya's time, he's dead right now? How can you just sit there through his insults, and bite your tongue?"

"The same way you do it," he slightly hugged her with one arm, "And everyone else does it. I just think of the future."

"Do you think we're doing the right thing?" Ginny asked them. "By not telling him? What if we don't tell Tonya anything? We can just go to Zabini and Malfoy for help. They know secrets about the Death Eaters."

"Everything they know, Tonya knows too," Hermione shook her head. "Remember, the less they know anything, the safer they are right now and in the future."

"'Ave you guys 'eard from Tonya lately?" Seamus asked. He met her twice already. She came with Tonks to one of the late night training sessions, and the second time was with Bill to meet up with Dumbledore about whatever mission they were planning. They had Harry's invisibility cloak with them for that part though. Snape led them up to the office, letting them in. "Or anyone else?"

Nodding her head then shaking it, Ginny whispered. "Sirius gave Harry a letter through Tonks last night. They're starting tonight."

Tonya sat on the couch, rubbing her forehead. They've been planning everything for three hours now, and they still had close to nothing. She was wearing the lime green colored shorts that Tonks had brought for her, with a black baby tee that showed the top part of her chest. Her hair was rolled up into a bun, with her legs tucked beneath her body. It's been two weeks and she fell into such a normal routine. Wake up, cry, train, plan, train, plan, train, plan, shower, cry, sleep; wake up the next morning and do it all again. It was still difficult to wake up alone every morning, and she wasn't used to it, but she did it. She hadn't died yet, and she still had the ring on her finger. She knew that the ring would only disappear once the Draco in her time didn't know who she was. And right now he was still dead. No doors had appeared for her to walk through just yet.

"And you're sure about this?" Bill asked her. He had taken to living in Number 12 Grimmauld Place, which frightened Tonya. If he was here so much, he wouldn't meet Fleur, and they won't get married. _Fleur is a Veela_, he reminded her_; that means that she'll only love her soul mate. If we got married in your version of the future, then we will get married. I'm not worried about that. Fleur and I are meant to be no matter what. If I don't meet her this year, I'll meet her next year. Or I'll meet her while out in the village. We still have time._

Nodding her head again, Tonya sighed. "Yes! I'm sure!"

Turning to Sirius, who also seemed to have a headache, Bill raised an eyebrow, "But wouldn't Voldemort get suspicious when his Death Eaters show up dead or end up missing?"

Groaning, it was Remus who spoke up now. "We've been over this lots of times, Bill. We're only going to kill off the minor ones. It's not as if we're going around killing off the Death Eaters that he'll notice has gone missing. We won't touch any of the important ones."

"We're only weeding out the useless ones to lessen the numbers."

"Meaning that he won't even notice they're gone."

"But won't he get suspicious when their bodies show up?"

Four groans took over the room. Tonks was back at the Ministry with Mad Eye them. She was an Auror after all, and had to return to her day job before it was noticed that she was missing. Charlie was rubbing the back of his neck now. "Bill, we've been over this hundreds of times."

"We aren't going to just leave the bodies around to be found," Remus sighed again. "Sirius and I know a dark spell that makes the body just disappear altogether."

"So we're using dark magic now?"

"YES!" came four shouts.

"Fine," Bill finally nodded his head. "Fine then. So what are we going to do?"

Deciding to eat lunch while planning this part, just in case Bill decides to play stupid on them again, everyone went into the kitchen. Kreacher laid out bowls of stew, plates of bread, and pitchers of pumpkin juice for them. They all noticed how he was quick to accept orders given to him by Tonya. At first they all thought it was because the Malfoy ring on her finger, but then they remembered that he served Blacks, not Malfoys, then Remus remembered that house-elves have an extraordinary magic; more powerful than even goblins. They can travel through time and remember things. _House-elves live to serve families for thousands of years._

Tonya explained to them that Kreacher was given to Harry when Sirius died, and had gotten used to serving for non-pureblooded witches and wizards. Especially since Harry had been more kind to him towards the beginning of the war. And Hermione – Kreacher even tried to heal her scar once everything had been settled, but there was a curse in it, one that not even he could break. It would be etched into her for eternity. Kreacher liked Tonya in her time. She was always kind to him, and often helped him out in the kitchen or would send Draco in to help him out. She wasn't obsessed like Hermione was, but she was kind. In her time, Kreacher would prefer to listen to Tonya over Harry; and it seemed the same now. Almost as if he had remembered her? The past Kreacher somehow recognized the future Tonya Malfoy.

"So where are the three Death Eaters going to be located at, pet?" asked Sirius. He stopped calling her _love_, when he realized that was when she would break down even more. He also listened to her in her sleep when she would scream some nights. That was Draco's pet name for her. Sirius chose to call Tonya _pet_ because it was still a nickname, and one that didn't make her convulse into emotions at the sound of it. Tonya had learned to get used to it, and even enjoy it a little.

Thinking back to the story Draco had told her, Tonya picked at her bread. She ate more now than she did in the beginning, but it was still wasn't enough to count as a whole meal. Sirius caught Kreacher sneaking supplements into plates or bowls meant for Tonya, and nearly killed him until he realized that Tonya hadn't been eating anything. So now she eats enough for her body to get the nutrients it needs. Kreacher was taking care of her; something Sirius never thought would ever happen. "Zonkos."

"The joke shop?" questioned Bill. "At what time?"

"Ten tonight."

"We have nine hours then. And you're sure that they aren't important enough?"

"Draco told me that Voldemort killed them himself," she shook her head. "They were goofing off, and I guess bragging that they're Death Eaters. They went into Zonkos, and killed seven innocent people."

Remus scrunched up his face. Tonks always said it was cute when he did that, but it reminded Tonya of a twitchy mouse. "Why would he kill his own followers for killing innocents? He does that all the time."

"But he's trying to stay hidden right now remember," Tonya wiggled both her eyebrows at him. "His Death Eaters going around, and killing innocent people just because they can, especially when these ones are new Death Eaters – not to mention they were only nine years old when Voldemort disappeared – it's going to be proof that he's back."

"It's not as if the Ministry would've acknowledged it anyways," scoffed Sirius.

Simply shaking her head, Tonya frowned. "Nope, they never did. The only reason I knew about these deaths were because Draco had told me all about it. Even Harry them didn't know these existed."

"Brilliant," Charlie winked at her, causing her to roll her eyes. "It's like we have our very own Death Eater with us."

"Just the widow of one," she softly chuckled. All the men in the room just rolled their eyes at her. It's been two weeks, and they found she often liked to joke about things she couldn't handle. This was one of those moments. At least there were no tears this time.

Hours went by, and finally it was time to put the plan into action. Once the clock struck nine, they all left to Diagon Alley. Sirius stayed hidden beneath Harry's invisibility cloak with Tonya, while Remus walked in front of them and the Weasley brothers walked behind. Tonya changed into long black jeans with one of Sirius's winter coats, and a pair of mittens. Snow was still on the ground, so Sirius muttered a spell to rid their footprints with each step they took. Learning that Harry had death's invisibility cloak, neither of them had to worry about being heard, or having the cloak called to an enemy by magic. The light of the wand didn't even shine through it. Remus stopped walking all of a sudden.

"Ouch!"

"Sorry Sirius!"

Rubbing his foot in the snow because Tonya just stepped on it, Sirius looked up at Remus. "It's alright. Why'd he stop?"

"I think he sees them."

Taking a step back, Remus could feel something, so he stopped moving. Lowering his voice; he spoke in a low and cautious tone. "I see them."

"Told you," Tonya leaned in alongside Sirius to get a better look at where Remus was looking at. "Ouch! Son of a…"

"Hurts don't it," teased Sirius, immediately shutting down when he saw her death glare turn on him.

"Sorry whoever I just stepped on," came the whispering of Charlie. "Bill don't step right-"

"Sorry!"

Rubbing his shoulder, Sirius let out a hiss while Tonya started to laugh again. "What was that about it hurting?" she teased him back.

"We can't do anything," Charlie was standing next to Remus now. "There are a couple of innocents around."

"Then we wait," suggested Bill, bringing up the other end of Remus.

"I can't see," Tonya turned to Sirius. "How many innocents are standing around them?"

"Four."

"Dammit!"

"What?"

"Zonkos only has three employees. They killed seven people; the three employees and these four innocent bystanders."

Sirius released throaty growl as her words sunk in. "But we can't just run out and kill them. And I'm still wanted for murder, mind you."

Looking down at her left hand, Tonya made sure that the gloves she wore hid her wedding ring completely. "Here," she said, shrugging out of the coat, and handing it to him.

"What are-"

But Tonya was already out from the protection of the invisibility cloak, standing next to Charlie, and shivering from the cold. "Watch me."

Jumping from the girl's sudden appearance, and demand, the three turned to look at her. "What the hell are you doing?" demanded Remus. "Get back under the cloak. And where's your coat, you're freezing out here."

Rubbing her arms, Tonya pointed her chin in the direction of the three Death Eaters. "Those are four of the innocents they kill. I'm going to grab their attention and lead them towards an alley."

"They'll kill you," hissed out Bill.

Looking at them, she simply said, "Then make sure you follow me closely."

Before any of them could stop her, Tonya was already walking out from where they were hidden and heading towards the three Death Eaters. Sirius placed a hand on Charlie's shoulder before following, letting them know that he would be by her side the entire way. This girl was suicidal. Then again, she had just lost her husband – though he doubted Malfoy would want her to walk alone with three newly recruited Death Eaters near ten in the night; wearing long jeans and a simple long sleeved red turtle neck. He watched her closely, knowing the others weren't too far behind from him. He had to admire her though. The shivering from the cold allowed her to sway while she walked, making it look as if she were just some random drunk witch who got lost while stumbling home from the pub.

As Tonya neared the Death Eaters, they instantly stopped taunting the four bystanders. Getting a good look at them, Sirius shook his head; glad to prevent them from dying this night. They looked around eighteen years old, and were shaking from fear. Once the Death Eaters heads had turned the four quickly ran away. Wrapping her arms tightly around herself, Tonya only chuckled to herself. She could hear the heavy footsteps closely behind her; feeling the burning eyes gazing as she walked like a drunk. If only Draco knew… he would murder her. He didn't even like it when she walked to work by herself. Let alone down an alleyway, trying to lure in three Death Eaters who kills just to brag that Voldemort took them in. _Don't be such an idiot;_ she could hear Draco scolding her, _stop being so damned brave. What the hell is wrong with you, love? They'll kill you without hesitation, you know. Stop walking. You're in deep enough. Black is right on your side, hidden beneath the cloak, but his wand is ready. The others are closing in on you. That's it love, don't worry now…_ like always, he would go from scolding her to assuring her. She chuckled again as she thought of what he would do to her if he saw her right now.

"Well, what do we have here?" pierced the cackling voice of one of the masked Death Eaters. "What's a pretty young thing like you doing out here all on your own?"

Feeling the chilling wind biting at her cheeks, Tonya released a small giggle. "I didn't start out alone. I'm kind of lost."

"Seems we got ourselves a pretty little American here," this voice was more booming.

Giggling again, she nodded her head; taking one step closer to them. For a second, she thought she saw a flash of silver, but realized the snowy air was getting to her mind. "I'm looking for my friends."

"We can be your friends, sweetheart," this voice was smoother, almost tantalizing like. It drew her in.

"Why don't you come in a little closer, love?"

_Love…_ again; someone who isn't Draco is calling her such a horrid name. Tonya went to take a step forward, but only to punch him. She figured Sirius could see the formed fist she just made because she felt him pinch her shirt from behind, and then she was on the snow. Forcing out another giggle, she flew her hands up to her mouth. "Oops!"

All three Death Eaters chuckled now. No doubt they were excited at the idea of a drunk, young American girl. "Someone's had too much to drink."

"Can't believe your friends would just leave you all alone like this," the smooth voice sounded so shocked. His concerning tone was drawing her in. Tonya felt like for a second she didn't want to kill him.

"We didn't!"

Quickly turning their backs on the supposedly drunk girl on the snow, the Death Eaters turned around finding themselves face to face with three wands. Letting out a shout one of them shot a curse at Charlie, but he was quick to dodge it; flying his own curse right back. Feeling hands on her, Tonya saw the face of Sirius fly the cloak on her before he joined in on the fight. Jumping to her feet, she watched as sparks of red, blue, and green flew throughout the alleyway; lighting it up with its own fireworks. Green sparks left Bill's wand then one was down. Green sparks came from Sirius's wand; another went down. A minute later, Charlie flew the last curse; killing the final Death Eater. Once Remus recited the dark spell to remove the bodies, they all turned to where Tonya was supposed to be standing.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Remus shouted at her.

Removing the cloak from herself, Tonya flew it at Sirius. "What? If I didn't do that, you guys would've never gone after them, and the innocents would most likely be dead by now. And it's not like any of us got hurt."

"You can't just lure mental Death Eaters into an alley late at night Tonya!" Charlie also shouted.

Shrugging her shoulders, she pointed across at Sirius, "I wasn't in any danger. Sirius was with me the entire time."

"Yeah, and if I didn't pull you to the snow, you would've punched him," Sirius spoke very loudly at her. He didn't scream or shout; just simply spoke loudly.

"She did what she had to do," Bill came to her defense. Walking over, he bent down and grabbed the winter coat that Sirius threw on the snow in an attempt to join the fight. Casting a quick warming spell on it, he gently wrapped it around Tonya. "We agreed to let her be involved in everything we do, knowing that she would take risks that we don't like."

"Risks that have to be done," Tonya added, nodding her head, and looking up at Bill with a new type of appreciation. In her time, they weren't exactly the best of friends. Well they were friends, but she was closer to Charlie and George than she was to Bill. Fleur always annoyed the hell out of her with the way she flirted with Draco, and Bill was also close to Percy, who was a complete git. She respected Bill, but they had never been together longer than needed, and never spent time alone. This trip to the past was helping her to gain a new best friend. This time she was finding a companion in Bill, something she never thought possible.

"But not at the expense of your life, Tonya."

"She only did what any one of us would have done, Remus," Bill spoke up again. "She knew that the Death Eaters would gladly abandon the four teens to follow a young drunk, attractive woman into a dark alley. Any male would have done that. She knew that none of us could lure them away, and she knew that we weren't ready to make any move in fear of getting one of the innocents harmed. Tonya did what she had to do."

Charlie nodded his head, moving in towards his brother and new sister, as he simply took her to be. Spending this much time with her, and getting to know her, Charlie felt a love for her that he felt for Ginny and Hermione. He would give up his own life to make her happy if he had to. He knew that any of the men standing in that alley right now would all quickly do the same. They had more time to spend with her than any other member of the Order or the DA; they all got drawn in closer to her. "Bill's right guys, the Death Eaters are dead now and everyone's safe. What's done is done."

Remus and Sirius both stared at each other for a couple of seconds, before sighing and nodding their heads. "C'mon pet," Sirius moved closer to her as well, "Let's get you back home already. You're freezing out here."

Holding onto Sirius's arm so he could apparate them back to Grimmauld Place, Tonya squinted her eyes to get a better look at the end of the alleyway. She thought she saw a flash of silver again. But just as quickly as she saw it, she felt the curling in her gut, and her insides started to burn as she was pulled through space. Within just seconds she was standing in the midst of her new home in the gloomy looking Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Releasing Sirius, Tonya left without another word, walking up to the room that they now called hers.


	9. The Unplanned Meeting

The Unplanned Meeting

"Just stay still," Sirius hissed through the cloak.

"Sirius," Charlie whispered, closely behind them, "Keep a tight grip on her. And apparate back home if you need to."

_"Why do you hate anyone whose magical blood isn't pure?"_

_ The icy blue eyes of Lucius Malfoy stared down at the young girl his son loved so much. Running both of his hands through his waist length silvered hair, he continued to stare down at her. In the beginning, when he learned his son had been alive all those months that he searched for him, he was ecstatic, but then he found out that he had been living with an American muggle, and he didn't know what to feel anymore. It was as if he had gone completely numb. Then he met her._

_ "It's hard to see a point of view from anything other than what you've been trained to believe."_

_ "And now?" _

_ Smiling, Lucius touched his fingers to his future daughter-in-laws cheeks, "And now, I know how wrong I've been all these years."_

_ "Do you hate Draco for loving me?"_

_ Shaking his head, Lucius sighed. "Of course not, darling."_

_ "Really?" Tonya always managed to keep a brave face on, but now… now she was scared, and she didn't bother to hide it from Lucius. She wanted to know the truth._

_ "Yes, really," he smiled again. Moving in front of her, Lucius placed both his hands on her shoulders. "I can see it in my son's eyes, Tonya. The way his eyes light up before you even enter the room. He can sense you before he even sees you. That is true love my dear, and I appreciate all that you have done for him," lifting Tonya's bare hand to his lips, he gently kissed her nude ring finger. "In just three hours, I will be walking you down that aisle, honored to give you to my son. I am the luckiest man in the world to have such a magnificent daughter-in-law."_

Tonya held her breath as Sirius stopped her from walking. A couple feet away from her, she saw the hardening eyes of her father-in-law. When she first stopped moving she thought he could see her. The way his eyes stayed glued to her proved that he knew someone was there. And then she heard the familiar cough. Feeling Sirius tighten his grip on her wrist, she felt the tears fall past her lips and hit the snow on the ground. Turning in the direction of the cough, she saw the fifteen year old version of her husband, and she released a low choking sound now. He was hardened, sickened, and pale. This was the husband she never thought she would have to see again. Death filled his eyes while he remained jumpy. She was confused. Why was he in Diagon Alley today?

"Are you okay, pet?" Sirius asked.

Nodding her head, Tonya continued to watch as Draco met up with his father. "I didn't know he would be here today. He never told me about leaving school one day to meet with Lucius."

"Maybe it's one of the changes..."

Gasping, Tonya heard the low growl escape from Sirius's lips as well. The steely grey hurricane colored eyes landed right on her. Confusion entered Draco's face while his eyes changed to a lighter shade. For a couple of seconds, they could have sworn they had seen a laughing look in his eyes. It was soon replaced by more confusion, then with a shake of his head the grim look returned to him. Charlie and Bill seemed to notice it as well. For a second they could have sworn that Draco knew Tonya was there. Not in a sense that he could sense someone in general, but in a way that he knew for a fact that it was Tonya. The look in his eyes proved that he knew he was staring directly into the eyes of his future wife.

"We should leave," Sirius told her.

"No," Tonya shook her head, "We need to follow them. Find out what they're up to. If this is a change, then it could be crucial. We need to know what they know."

"I'll take you home then come back."

"No," she shook her head again, "I'm fine Sirius. I promise."

"You just had a staring contest with the fifteen year old version of your dead husband," Sirius snarled, then quickly regretted his words once they escaped his lips. Seeing the sudden tears form in her eyes once more, he bit his tongue then swore. "Fuck! Sorry pet, I just meant that…" setting his jaw into a stone position, he kicked at the snow, "Dammit! Tonya, get back here."

Hearing the two oldest Weasley brothers calling her name, Tonya ignored them and ran. She didn't care if she just ruined their spying mission, or if they hexed her for this later, she just had to get away from Sirius. His words stung her, and she couldn't stand the thought of staying under the cloak with him any longer. It sickened her. Running as far as her feet would take her, Tonya didn't notice until it was too late that she had been followed.

"Where do I know you from?"

Gasping as she flew around, Tonya held onto the wall to keep from falling. Grateful that she was wearing mittens to hide her wedding ring, she found herself staring into the eyes of her husband. "Umm… I… I don't know."

"You're American?" Draco's hair fell into his eyes as he stared at the older woman. He felt a longing need to hold her in his arms, but he didn't know where it was coming from. He's never met an actual American before. But everything in his body shouted that he knew her. That he belonged with her. That he was safe now.

Nodding her head, she looked past him. "Y-Yeah."

"What are you doing here?" he asked her.

Biting on her bottom lip, Tonya looked away from the black space that she assumed was Sirius, and turned back to stare at Draco. Her tears were freely falling now. "I don't know."

"Why are you crying?" he asked her. "Are you hurt?"

Chuckling, she nodded her head, "You can say that."

"Do you need a healer?"

"No."

"Are you lost?"

"I'm a long way away from home if that's what you mean," she nodded her head again.

Draco cocked his eyes at her. She was odd, and confusing, but he felt a longing sensation to make sure she made it home safely. "I'm sure there must be somebody looking for you."

"No," she shook her head this time. Resisting the urge to run to him, and just collapse in his arms, Tonya sighed. "There isn't."

"I'm Draco," he didn't know why, but he felt the need to introduce himself. Confused as to why the woman choked out more tears when he introduced himself, he held out a hand to shake hers, "Draco Malfoy."

Staring down at the stretched out hand just a couple feet away from her, Tonya grimly smiled, "I know who you are."

"Aren't you going to tell me your name?" he continued to hold out his hand for her. He wanted to touch her… no, he needed to touch her. His touch would tell her that everything would be alright. He didn't know how, but he knew that his touch would save her.

"Tonya," she whispered.

Sparks of electricity flooded through his body. A voice called out to him, and he heard the girl gasp as she looked past him. Turning to see what had frightened her, he saw his father standing above him. There was something odd about his father this time though. He looked different. Like his eyes were softer now. "Father," he said in his bitter tone, annoyed for having been interrupted. Once the American girl spoke her own name, Draco had familiar sensations running through his body.

The eyes of Lucius Malfoy stayed hard on the girl in front of him. There was relief mixed in with pride. His eyes landed on her mitten covered hand, and he quickly scanned the alley. "Son," his tone wasn't harsh, so he cleared his throat then spoke again. This time there was his usual bitter hatred when he spoke. "Go up to the shop. I'll meet you there."

"But-"

"No buts," came the barked out demand. "Do as I say. Now! We must be returning you back to Hogwarts soon enough."

"Yes father," his voice was in a growl. He spoke through clenched teeth. He turned to say something to the girl at least one more time, but he spotted the fresh tears in her eyes once more. His throat became too dry, and he turned without another word. Feeling as if he would cry himself, Draco found it difficult to turn away from her. He did it; it was just too difficult to.

Tonya watched as the fifteen year old version of her husband left her. There was a familiar ache in her heart at the scene, and she had to bite down the urge to shout for him to stay with her. This Draco was only three years younger than the Draco she met, and five years younger than her husband. It didn't matter that he was merely still a child in this time, she just wanted to hold him once more. She needed to know that everything would be alright. She just needed her husband again. Then her eyes landed on the intrigued looking Lucius.

"Lucius," she said in a quick breath. Running over to the man who was still watching her, she fell into his arms, "What are you doing here?"

Chuckling, Lucius ran his hands through Tonya's hair. "Harry owled us once you left. He told us that Draco had been killed. When Narcissa and I floo'd to your apartment to console you, he told us how you traveled back to Draco's fifth year. You're trying to change the pattern of things."

She nodded her head. "I can't accept him being dead, Lucius. I just can't."

"I know my child," the elder Malfoy continued to hold her tightly against him, "It isn't safe to talk here. Meet me at the old Malfoy cabin. I'm assuming you aren't alone right now," when Tonya shook her head, he released her, "Eight o'clock tonight, Tonya. It's the only time I can get away without being missed. You know which cabin I'm talking of, right?" she nodded her head; "Black and whoever else you're with can apparate with you. Remember now my daughter; it's a mile walk up to the actual cabin. Use your ring to enter," he reached into his cloak pocket, "This is from Harry," he said, pulling out a note for her.

"Thanks," she smiled, putting it into her pocket once it entered her hand. "We'll be there at eight. Is Narcissa with you?"

"She stayed back with Harry them. This time's Narcissa doesn't notice that her Lucius is missing."

"Where is he?"

"In our time," he chuckled. "Kreacher replaced him."

"Kreacher," she gasped.

Chuckling once more, Lucius pulled her against him a second time. "I'll explain more to you tonight. You are already making a difference in our time, Tonya. Read the letter from Harry," then pressing his lips to his daughter-in-law's forehead, he whispered, "I love you, Tonya. Be well to remember that. Remember what I told you on your wedding day."

She nodded her head, allowing him to release her. Smiling through her tears, she told him, "I'll never be able to forget it, Lucius."

Bill and Charlie had dropped jaws when Lucius turned out of the alleyway. With a wink of an eye, Lucius sneered at them before walking completely out of view. Tonya stood there, staring after her father-in-law with a new sense of awe. She didn't know the complete story, but she knew that whatever it was everything was about to change now. She knew she saw silvered hair that night in the alleyway, and she knew she wasn't seeing things. It was beginning to make some sense now. Why there hadn't really been any Death Eater attacks lately, and why Kreacher loved her. She wasn't the only one trying to fix the past.

_Tonya,_

Sitting on the couch, Tonya read the letter aloud for everyone to hear her. After returning back from their quick trip to Diagon Alley, they all filled Remus in on everything. Remus was pissed with Sirius for his harsh words to the girl he considered like a daughter already, but even more intrigued to learn about Lucius Malfoy.

_I only hope that Lucius runs into you, to give this to you. The minute you left me, everyone arrived. I filled them in on everything, and Ron and Seamus quickly returned to the Ministry to start hunting down who led the attack on Draco. Narcissa is staying here with us, and actually helping in keeping Draco's death a secret, we're hoping that this also lures out his killer. She's been using polyjuice every day to take Draco's place at work. We're hoping this works. Hermione placed a spell to preserve his body so he isn't rotting or anything, and our memories are all starting to change somehow. Every little thing that you're doing in our fifth year is affecting us now. It's only been four days since you left us, but already you impacted a lot. Obviously everything hasn't gone as planned just yet. Draco's still dead, and so are Fred, Remus, Tonks, and Sirius. But right now Neville didn't announce his love to Luna during the war, but right after we showed them the pictures. Blaise and Seamus are still in love, and so are the rest of us. Bill is still with Fleur, and she's still pregnant with a girl. It seems our theories were correct as well. We do remember everything. The true version of our past, and the memories we're creating now. As long as you continue to tell us about ourselves, we can't forget it. _

_Instead of sending Lucius back in time with magic, like how we did with you, we sent him with Kreacher. We needed to bring back the old Lucius, so there wouldn't be two of them running around. That would be too dangerous. I can't write much in this letter about the plan, but Lucius will fill you in on it once you run into each other, and whenever you read this. The Kreacher in your time right now, is our Kreacher. So don't worry about him running out with our secrets. And the prat version of Lucius that we have with us is locked up nicely in your flat with the rest of us. We took his wand away, and he's restricted to nothing basically. He thinks we've all gone mad, but Narcissa is trying to work with him. There's no guarantee of how much he'll change while with us though. So we're just hoping on our own Lucius to help you out. _

_Stay safe and good luck. _

_ Love,_

_Harry_

"How did you know it was your own Lucius?" asked Charlie. "When we got to the alley, we heard you tell Malfoy your name. Then we saw the way you looked up at Lucius. It was like you instantly knew it was him."

"His eyes," Tonya smiled. "Every time he looks at me, there's always this certain shine in it. Only I can bring out that smiling look in his eyes. It's like a teasing smile filled with admiration and pride. Once I saw his eyes, and the way he looked at me… I knew it. That was_ my_ father-in-law."

"So he's been here only four days after you arrived," Remus grinned. "Could that be why some of the Death Eaters we've been trying to hunt are missing?"

"Do you think we can actually trust him?" Charlie asked the question that the other males have been thinking, but were too scared to ask.

Tonya thought about it for a second then nodded her head, "Yes. I know you guys have your reservations about the Malfoys, but I trust in _my _Lucius. I've seen the new him. I've witnessed the kindness that he normally hides, and I trust him with everything. Him being here will only work in our favor."

"But if the past Lucius decides he hates you, and gets it into his mind that you're all liars who must be killed, then he could turn against us. He could fill Voldemort in on everything," Sirius pointed out.

She shook her head. "No, nope… Harry said so himself, they all remember the true versions as well as the changed versions. As long as they keep informing the past Lucius in on everything, he'll be fine."

"And if he doesn't believe it?" asked Bill, "Then what? He tries to kill you?"

"He won't try to kill me," Tonya shook her head again. "Look, you guys just have to trust me. Right now my gut is telling me that Lucius won't flip on us. I trust him more than I trust you guys. And you guys are the good guys. Lucius and I have a tight bond. He was the one who walked me down the aisle when I married Draco, and if he says he's got a plan then he's got a good plan that will help us win this war."

They all took it in, allowing themselves a couple of silent minutes. Remus was the first to speak, pinching the bridge of his nose he took in a deep breath. "Well this explains how Kreacher seemed to recognize you."

"He's your Kreacher," Charlie nodded his head. "Poor Harry. Poor Hermione. We get the kind Kreacher, and they get stuck with the bitter Kreacher."

"It also explains why he doesn't listen to me," Sirius chuckled with a saddened sigh. "In his time, I'm dead. He belongs to Harry now. So of course he's going to be hardheaded with me."

Bill looked between each of them and stood up. "It's already seven. I'm going to owl Harry-"

"No," Tonya shook her head quickly. "Umbridge checks all owls. That's why we need to continuously just keep delivering letters through Tonks."

"I'll head over to Hogwarts with Tonks tonight then," Remus also stood up, walking over next to Bill. "I'll fill them in on everything myself. You guys head over to the old Malfoy cabin with Tonya."

"Where is that at, Ton?" asked Charlie.

Flicking at her nails with the tip of a quill she grabbed off from the table they were leaning on, she looked up at him, "In muggle Ireland. It's a tiny little cabin off of the lakes shore. We have to apparate into Dublin. I have a picture of the apparation spot in my album, so I'll show it to you guys. We have to walk a mile though, because the wards are crazy heavy."

**I'm so ashamed at how short this chapter is, but the pre-written chapters are all pau now. From now on I'm going to be writing a new chapter weekly, so please bear with me guys! I have a nasty habit at writing tons of stories at once, and my over achieving mind decided to be a genius, and post up 9 stories at once. Only 3 of them have chapters that are actually still written out, and the others are all being written weekly. So far I'm doing good at writing a new chapter every week (aside from 2 stories that I'm absolutely stumped on) *knock on wood* and I'm going to attempt to keep up my weekly chapter posts. (after Christmas) Please don't give up on me, and please review! Reviews keep the sun shining(:**

**Oh… and what do you guys think of Lucius 0_o I've always admired him, and I just had to have him in here.**


	10. Changing The Future

**The new laptop I got on Christmas has absolutely no writing programs on it whatsoever, and I can't get onto my old laptop because the charger's broken and my brother threw it away. I've been waiting on my uncle's friend who offered to download a Microsoft word program onto my new laptop, and I was unable to get to any of my stories because something's wrong with the my flashdrive key thingy, so I'm still waiting for my payment so I can buy a new charger, and I'm still waiting for my uncle's friend… These past weeks, I've only able to do new things on my brother's laptop, which only has "text edit" so I have to then upload it as a DocX then copy it onto my mom's laptop when she's sleeping, and start a new document. It's extremely complicated, and I'm trying to keep my patience, but I couldn't hold it in anymore. I googled what to do… and I downloaded **_**Microsoft Word Starter 10**_** and some converter thing, and somehow managed to get my key thing to work, and transfer my stories to the new laptop, which is now even more complicated than before. **

**So slowly, I fixed up all of the stories since converting it changed it in simple ways, and edited all my stories at the same time. So if you notice, I've fixed all the grammar mistakes and just mistakes in general in past chapters of nearly every story. I couldn't do all the stories in one day, because this was taking forever, so thank you for being patient if you read more than just one. This was the last story that I had to edit, and update! It took a while to complete all the stories because after so many chapters I got lazy, and ended up doing a one-shot… so if you notice… I have about 3-4 new one-shots(:**

Changing The Future

Apparating in Dublin, Ireland; Charlie, Bill, and Sirius all turned to Tonya, waiting for their next instructions. The girl in question was now warmly wrapped up in long black colored snow pants, Sirius's winter coat once again, and boots. Her hair was tied into a bun and tucked beneath a furry hat that covered her ears as well, and was rubbing her hands together. The snow was something that she still never learned to get used to. Not bothering to hide underneath the invisibility cloak, she started to lead the way. It was only a mile walk away, and she wanted to get out of the freezing air as quickly as possible.

_"Draco," she giggled, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. "Where are we?"_

_ Pressing his lips against her drenched forehead, he ran through the streets, "We're in Ireland, love."_

_ "And what are we doing in Ireland?" burying her face against his chest, she shut her eyes, trying her hardest to not get soaked from the storm that her brilliant fiancé decided to apparate them into._

_ "I'm taking you to my family's cabin."_

_ "You guys have a cabin in Ireland?"_

_ "Yes, love," he chuckled then started to run faster, "Now can you hold off on the questions please my darling? It's kind of difficult to run and talk at the same time."_

It was different then she remembered; walking the mile hike. She was used to seeing the green hills painted with thick white blankets, and she was used to seeing the darkness of the sky, but it was different. This time, she was alone. This cabin was a place that she entered only a total of three times with Draco, but mostly where she came to look for her father-in-law if she needed someone to talk to, or if Lucius was missing and no one could find him. Draco understood what this place meant to Lucius, and somewhere along the way it began to mean something to Tonya as well.

"This is it."

They stopped walking, and looked at each other with worried eyes. Tonya's voice was flat and emotionless when she stopped in front of them. "It's not what I expected," Charlie said loudly.

"Lucius loves to fish," Tonya nodded her head, "So no one really knows about this place. Fishing is a muggle sport, and he couldn't have anyone knowing that he loved such a muggle thing."

"It's smaller than I imagined," Bill said in a short breath.

Tonya nodded her head once more, "It's a getaway for him. Narcissa doesn't even come here. Draco comes only once in a while, but this is where Lucius always comes just to get away. He doesn't need a manor to do so."

Bill and Charlie stood behind Tonya, while Sirius stayed closely by her side. They were now at Rathbeggan Lake, which was just a ten minute drive away from Dublin. Where they were expecting a large and magnificent looking cabin, they found only a simple tiny little log cabin. It was a tiny little Beeston log cabin, with double glazed doors, and double glazed windows. There was a simple little verandah attached to the front of it, leading up to the door. Following Tonya, they watched as she reached underneath a welcoming mat and pulled out a key. Sticking the key into the doorknob, they heard Tonya take in a deep breath as she took off her left mitten. Pressing her key against the out of place silver colored wood, she turned the knob, pushing the door open.

_"Oh wow," releasing a breath of air as her feet hit the wooden floors, Tonya looked around. "This place is beautiful, Draco."_

_ Walking over to the fire place, Draco began to start a fire the muggle way. "This is my father's sanctuary," he explained to her. "No magic is allowed here. The only magic that this cabin has ever seen is when you enter the door, but other than that magic is banned from here."_

_ Still soaked from the storm that they were caught in, Tonya took off the red colored shirt she was wearing; leaving her in only her white jeans and a black padded bra. "Well then how are we supposed to dry off?"_

_ "And you call yourself a muggle," Draco smirked, standing back up once the fire started. Turning around, Draco laughed when he saw his fiancée shivering from the cold, and missing her shirt. "I'll get the towels, love. Go stand by the fire for now."_

_ Sitting in front of the fire, Tonya hugged her arms. She was freezing and her teeth were chattering, but she couldn't help but to admire the cabin. This was the first time that she saw the Malfoys owning something less than extravagant. Everything was thrown together in just one big room. Once you enter the cabin there's a round table with only two wooden chairs at it. There's a tiny little counter top with a sink, and a double portable little gas stove. There was a brown colored suede couch in front of the fire place, and a black colored bear skin rug on the floor. There was mini refrigerator, and only one door that Draco was now hidden behind. She assumed it was the bathroom._

_ Returning with two thick towels, Draco grinned as he sat next to her. Making sure to wrap her up first, he pulled her against his body. "This is where Father usually runs away to. Mother's never been here before, and I've only come a couple times."_

_ "Then why did you bring me here?" Tonya asked in confusion, trying to merge her body with Draco's so that she could become warmer._

_ Holding Tonya's back against his chest, he rubbed the towel over her shoulders, ignoring his own coldness. "Father likes you, Tonya," Draco admitted, "And I wanted to bring you here to show you how much of a good guy he could be. I want you to know the side of my father that people refuse to believe exists."_

"Magic isn't allowed in this cabin," Tonya quickly told them, walking straight to the fire place. "Lucius set it up so that this place could be a relaxing getaway."

Kicking off his boots, and taking off his hat, Sirius watched as Tonya began to poke around the fireplace. "Lucius didn't want magic in here?"

"No," she shook her head, rubbing her hands together before starting back at the fire. "This cabin is Lucius's, and no else's, well I guess in a way it belongs to Narcissa and Draco, but this is mostly his. No one else comes here."

"Why not?"

Satisfied with the roaring flames that she had created, Tonya turned to the questioning wizards, "He wanted a place for only him. Besides Narcissa doesn't like the smell of fish, and Draco sucks at fishing, so Lucius never really had anyone to share this place with."

"Aside from you my darling."

The three wizards quickly turned to face the front of the cabin. Quickly shutting the door behind him, Lucius walked out of the coldness and into the warmth. Ignoring his wife's cousin and his two future allies, he walked directly to his daughter-in-law. He hissed at the idea of Tonya wearing something that belonged to Sirius, but he appreciated that it would keep her safe from the winter's harsh bites. Engulfing her in his arms, he breathed in the scent of honey and chuckled against her. His son became obsessed with the sweet snack after returning from America with Tonya in his arms.

"Lucius," Tonya grinned, finally pulling away from her father-in-law. "I'd like you to meet everybody."

"We've met," Sirius quickly replied in a harsh tone. Seeing the dark glint in Tonya's eyes, and the amused smirk on Lucius's face, he took a step back. "Sorry Lucius, it's hard to forget that in my time we're still enemies."

"It's quite alright, Sirius," the three wizards who still weren't used to Lucius being anything other than malicious, were confused by the polite tone in his voice. "It's hard for me to see you as well. In my time you are dead after all."

"Mr. Malfoy," Bill said, sticking out his hand, "It's good to have you on our side."

Charlie nodded his head in agreement, "We're going to need all the help we can get if we want Tonya's plan to work."

Accepting Bill's offered hand, Lucius waved at the two wooden chairs, "Why don't you two have a seat, Tonya, darling-?"

"I'll get it," she nodded her head before he even had to say anything.

Accepting the offered seat, Charlie watched Tonya disappear outside, "Where is she going?"

"We have one more chair outside on the patio," he explained, then grinned once Tonya returned carrying it. "Sirius, please have a seat."

Accepting the chair that Tonya just handed to him, Sirius thanked her then turned back to Lucius, "Where are you two going to sit?"

Charlie and Bill exchanged frightened looks when the two in question started to laugh. Sirius simply cocked an eyebrow in confusion. "We have our own seats," Lucius informed them.

Sirius gaped when he saw Lucius sit on the floor. Sitting next to her father-in-law, Tonya looked up at the three dropped jaws, and rolled her eyes. "So Lucius," she started, "Harry wrote in the letter that Narcissa is taking a polyjuice potion every day and going into work as Draco to draw out the killer?"

Nodding his head, he sighed. "It's true. Seamus and Ronald-" Bill and Charlie both found it so odd; hearing Lucius Malfoy, call their youngest brother by his actual name without a sneer, "Went directly to the Ministry once they were informed of what happened. They went through their back files of Death Eaters, but so far they weren't able to find any suspects."

"Are you keeping in contact with them?" Sirius asked. "Or with my cousin?"

Lucius shook his head, "Not yet. I've been trying to look for you, Tonya. I suspected that you were hiding out at the headquarters, but seeing as how it's the past I don't have any access there yet. Now tell me, what have you been up to?"

They were all seated in the Room of Requirement. Dumbledore was the only one missing from the group, but Snape and McGonagall were both there as well. Tonks and Remus had just finished training the younger members, and now they were all seated around a table. Ginny sat between the two professors while the golden trio sat together. Luna sat between Neville and Seamus. The letter from Lucius sat between all of them on the table.

"And she believes that Lucius will remain on our side?" Hermione asked after five minute of silence.

Nodding her head, it was McGonagall who defended the older Malfoy. "Elf magic is different than any other type of magic. It's the strongest magic there is. Since Harry was the one who sent Tonya to us, using wizard's magic, everything will change, including our thoughts. But seeing as how Kreacher is the one who brought Lucius over from the future, his thoughts could never change. Even with the past Lucius being so positive that we're lying to him, and that we've all gone mad, the future Lucius will never change."

"It's one of the reasons that the Ministry fought hard to make sure that house-elves were never set free," Snape included, avoiding Hermione's eyes at this point. "They fear what the elves are capable of."

"So because it was Kreacher who sent Lucius back into time, Lucius's thoughts won't change over time?" asked a confused Seamus.

"No, Mr. Finnigan," McGonagall sighed. "To simply state it, we can trust that this Lucius will not deceive us."

Harry chuckled as a sudden thought popped into his mind, "Looks like we can't kill him in the battle anymore now can we."

"Not if he's on our side now," Snape shook his head. "Then no Mr. Potter, it is not alright to attack Lucius."

Staring at her thumbs, Luna was fiddling with them. Suddenly the bright blue orbs looked up at everybody. "Does this mean we can tell Draco now?"

Rubbing her forehead, Hermione sighed, "No Luna. This is last time I'm going to tell any of you guys, we cannot inform Malfoy of anything that's going on."

"But he met Tonya today," Ginny reminded her friend, taking sides with the ones who wanted to tell Draco the truth. "Remus said it himself; Malfoy knew that he knew Tonya somehow, he recognized her. I'm sure that if we just explain everything to him, he'll believe us and join our side."

"But that's the problem," Neville argued. He was one of the ones who believed in why Tonya was keeping Draco in the dark. "Malfoy being on our side is what got him killed in the first place."

"We could just tell him to stay out of the battle," Ron argued back, "Then that way he'll know who Tonya is, and they can still be together when she goes back to her time, and he won't be killed."

It was Harry who jumped in now, "I doubt he'll stay out of the battle when we tell him that his future wife will be right in the center of it all. Malfoy knowing anything now will only put his life into danger."

"We could convince Blaise to-"

"Oh that's perfect," Neville rolled his eyes, "Not only are we going to get Malfoy into the battle with us, but let's drag Zabini into it as well."

"Seamus," Hermione sighed, "I doubt that Zabini will help keep Malfoy away from the battle once he finds out you'll be fighting in it as well."

Seamus bit his lip. Hermione was right, he didn't think of it like that, but it didn't mean that he agreed with her all of a sudden. He didn't want Blaise in the battle, but he still felt that Draco had a right to know of everything that was going on. The four adults all sat in silence, watching everything as it happened. They were taken back by the arguments of the teens. They each had valid points, and it sounded like they've been having their own secret meetings just to argue about this, and it shocked them – they didn't know how much effect this was taking on the younger ones. The adults didn't suspect that the students would each feel so strongly about the happiness of the girl from the future.

"Sorry we're late," Fred gasped, running into the room.

Entering behind his twin, George also seemed out of breath. "Filch caught us, and we had to escape him."

"So what did we miss?"

The dungeons were cold as always, but the two friends remained immune to it already. Sitting on the emerald sheeted bed, they both had the drapes closed around them with a spell placed so that none of their snoring roommates could hear them speaking. The darker boy was wearing maroon colored silk pants with the matching top, while the pale ghostly boy wore green silk pants and no top. His paled chest was heaving heavily as his thoughts remained on the girl from the alleyway. He knew her from somewhere. It was annoying him how much he knew her, and how much she was affecting him.

"Do you think Seamus is cheating on me?"

Tearing his thoughts away from the haunting familiar soft blue eyes, he turned to his best mate, "What?"

"Seamus?" Blaise asked in a soft voice, embarrassed for asking his best guy friend if he thought his boyfriend was cheating on him, but he had to know. "Do you think he's cheating on me?"

"What makes you think that?" Draco asked, cocking an eyebrow. He doubted the Irish git would do anything as stupid as that, but if he was cheating on Blaise, he would have a world of unforgivable curses coming his way.

"I don't know," he admitted, shrugging his shoulders. "It's just that… well he's been acting odd around me lately. He's always reminding me of how much he loves me, and-"

Draco wanted to laugh, but he could see the seriousness in his friend's eyes, "You think he's cheating on you because he tells you loves you? Hate to break it to you mate, but when someone tells you they love you, it usually means that they love you."

"I know," Blaise sighed, biting on his lower lip. If anyone other than only Draco were around, he would never allow himself to seem so vulnerable, but Draco was his best friend. He could be himself around him. "But it's just weird. I mean he tells me every second we're alone together. And it's not only that. He's always around Potter, and Weasley, and even that damned Longbottom now. I hardly see him around Thomas anymore, and when I ask him why he doesn't hang around Thomas as much anymore, he just changes the subject. Not to mention, every time I walk by him he always stops whispering."

That caught Draco's attention. So he wasn't going crazy. Blaise noticed it too... "Is he always whispering with one of the Weasels or Granger?" he asked. "Or even Pothead and Longbottom?"

"And Lovegood," Blaise nodded his head then his eyes widened. "So you've seen it too then? Oh Merlin. He is cheating on me isn't he?"

Draco shook his head, "I don't think he's cheating on you Blaise," he assured him. "He loves you too much. And as much as I'd rather you end up with someone better, I can see it every time he steals a glance at you in class or in the Great Hall, he does love you. I think something else is happening though."

"What do you mean?"

_"Have you ever fished before, darling?"_

_ Chewing on her bottom lip, Tonya felt a little out of place. Draco had to work that day, and Narcissa still refused to go anywhere near the cabin, but Lucius didn't want to be alone this day. He wanted some company out with him on the lake. So here she was, three hours later – wearing white jean shorts over blue colored bikini bottoms and just the matching blue bikini top with her hair tied back into a ponytail. Sitting across from her on the tiny row boat, was her future father-in-law. Never before, had she ever seen Lucius Malfoy look so relaxed. Instead of his long robes, he wore a plain white t-shirt. The dark mark was faded into his left forearm, versus Draco's fresher looking mark. Along with his simple plain t-shirt, he wore khaki's that reached his calves, and had his hair tied back into a low ponytail. The sight alone caused her to giggle when she first saw him step out of the bathroom, but now it was just awkward. They've never been left alone together before. This was only her second time being at the cabin, and they've known each other for only three months._

_ "Yes," Tonya nodded her head, "My father used to take me every other weekend, and for two weeks out of the summer we would stay at his friend's cabin with his family where we would go fishing every day."_

_ Lucius grinned in approval. "I've always wanted to take Draco fishing," he admitted to her. "But he's horrible at it, and if there's anything I can promise you about my son, it's that if he's terrible at something he won't do it anymore. He refuses to come out with me anymore."_

_ "Narcissa doesn't like to fish?" she asked, not noticing the proud look on Lucius's face as she placed the worm onto her own hook, herself._

_ Watching the girl's movements, Lucius noticed how comfortable she was with touching the wriggling worm. "She loathes the stench of fish," he said. "I was very honored when you agreed to come out here with me today, Tonya."_

_ Looking up, Tonya saw that he was already looking out at the lake, with his own pole already dipped into the water. Grinning at the small smile on his face, she casted out her own line. "Thank you for asking me to join you, Lucius."_

Not used to anything from the muggle world, Charlie and Bill stared at the Coke cans in front of them. Sirius however, remembered how Lily's house to always have boxes of them, so he quickly drank his, reminiscing on the good old days. He was shocked that the Coke cans were Lucius's. He assumed that the drinks they were being offered were Tonya's own stash, but then he remembered that they were in the past. The Lucius from this year doesn't even know about Tonya, which reminded him about something else.

"How long have you had this cabin for?" Sirius asked out of curiosity.

Chuckling, Lucius played with the red can in his hands. "Since Draco was just a year old."

"Really?" Bill cocked an eyebrow. "Don't take this the wrong way Lucius, but if you've owned a muggle cabin for fourteen years, and you have a ban on magic in this place, why did you fight alongside Voldemort in the battle and in the war?"

"My family," Lucius simply stated. "And because I believed it was the right thing to do. I love muggle things, as you can tell from this cabin, but it isn't something that I was proud of. This cabin was my hidden shame, something that no one aside from my wife and my son had ever known about. Actually, aside from Tonya, you three are the only other people to ever learn about it as well. And I'm assuming Remus from what you've told me, but other than that, this cabin is my guilty pleasure; something that up until I met Tonya, I was always ashamed of."

"After the battle at the Ministry, Lucius was taken to Azkaban," Tonya reminded them. "He was locked up for a couple of months, and it wasn't until he was released that he finally started to see the error of Voldemort's ways."

"When I returned," Lucius nodded his head, continuing the story from his own point of view, "My wife was badly beaten, my home had been taken over, and my son was a Death Eater. While Draco was younger, I always looked forward to the day that he would follow after me, but when it actually happened, I knew that things were different. Everything became real, and that was when I knew that I wasn't as prejudiced as I believed myself to be. With Voldemort in-"

Bill's jaw slacked, and his eyes hit the ceiling. "You called him Voldemort."

"I watched him be killed by a seventeen year old," Lucius chuckled, "I don't fear him."

Rolling his eyes at his brother's rudeness, Charlie waved his hand, "As you were saying, Lucius…"

"Right," he smirked, reminding them that he was still a Malfoy, no matter whose side he was on, "With Voldemort in power, I wouldn't be able to enjoy this cabin anymore. The one place that I escape to, I would no longer have. With Voldemort taking control of things, I would no longer have the ability to relax or enjoy such simple things. Like Coke, which I find more addicting than Butterbeer and Pumpkin juice. Voldemort wouldn't only be ridding the world of muggles, but of the things that muggles had created."

Laughing – something that none of the three watchful wizard's had ever seen before – Tonya slapped her hand on Lucius's thigh, earning a chuckle from Lucius – who knew she was about to say – and raised eyebrows from the other three, "Lucius reminds me of Arthur in a way. He's obsessed with muggle items, and in actuality they become the best of friends."

Seeing the curious gazes on him, Lucius nodded his head, "It's true. Aside from Tonya, Arthur is the only one who enjoys accompanying me here for a weekend getaway."

Sirius shook his head. Bill and Charlie shared another frightful look before opening the soda cans and taking in their first taste at a muggle drink. They both instantly loved it. "I don't think I can take any more shocking news," Sirius told them. "Lucius, can you tell us what else you know? We know that some things had to have changed from how this year was originally supposed to go."

"It has," he nodded his head, "But in minor ways. It seems like Tonya's plans and mine are the same. The night in the alley, I went to kill the three Death Eaters, but was shocked to find you guys instead. Which by the way," turning all of his attention on the now blushing twenty year old, he raised an eyebrow in a scolding manner, "What the bloody hell were you thinking Tonya Anne Malfoy! You cannot just walk into an alleyway with three Death Eaters."

"I wasn't alone," she whined, taking the three wizards' by surprise. She was no longer the brave and strong-headed woman that they had all grown fond and protective of – she was now a whiny little child who didn't want to be scolded by her parent. "I knew Sirius was following me with the cloak, and I knew that the other three were right behind me as well. I just had to lure them away from the innocents."

"Have you lost your bloody mind!" Lucius continued to scold her. His voice was calm, but slowly rising. "You could have been injured. I would have taken care of them."

"I didn't know you were there," Tonya frowned suddenly, "Well I saw a flash of silver hair, but I didn't really think anything of it. I thought I was going crazy, but that's beside the point. I didn't know you were there. I didn't know you were going to kill them that night too."

"You're only lucky that Sirius was right behind you," Lucius scowled at her now, causing Charlie, Bill, and even Sirius to slightly chuckle at the scene. "Honestly child, going to punch someone because of a name. Death Eaters are highly trained wizards and witches, Tonya; you cannot defeat a wand with a fist. I've told you this many times before."

Folding her arms over her chest, Tonya slightly pouted, not realizing how alive she's being since her first day into the past. "I don't regret it."

"I don't know how you three have managed to deal with her," Lucius sighed in exasperation, turning back to the other three. "But I wish you the best of luck."

Snickering into his hand before covering it up with a cough, Bill ignored the glare from Tonya. "So Lucius, what's happening?"

"Right," he continued, "I've managed to kill up to fifteen Death Eaters so far, aside from the three you guys got. Voldemort hasn't noticed they're missing yet, and this is what I was thinking…"

Snape was putting a salve over the twins' hands while they listened with open mouths. It was one thing to hear about the Malfoys being kind in the future, but it was something else to hear about Lucius Malfoy being on their side _now_. Neville was ignoring the whispering of his girlfriend and his gay roommate, knowing that they could plan on telling Draco the truth behind everyone's backs, but never do it. Things were different now; they were different now. He heard the story of becoming a warrior, and being one of the main pieces to winning the war, and it somehow gave him the strength. Just knowing that he plays a major role in all of this, and just hearing of how he steps up and fights for everything that is right... it gave him the strength to face this upcoming battle. He would fight, and not caring if he dies this time around, he would help to make sure the future turns out better than it seems to be.

"How long are they going to be meeting with Lucius?" Fred asked, watching while Snape tried his hardest to heal the bleeding words on the back of his hand.

Unable to look at the punishment caused by a Professor, Remus shook his head. "I don't know, but we're going to owl the rest of the Order this upcoming weekend. I'm sure whatever Lucius tells them, will be helpful to all of us."

"Can we come too?" asked Ron.

Tonks shook her head, "No, Ron. We can't draw any attention towards us. These every night training sessions are already enough, and remember what Tonya said; Umbridge already suspects you guys are doing something in here."

"It's only two months before Malfoy leads her to us," Seamus nodded his head in agreement.

Luna's quiet voice sounded so timid amongst the loud voices. "When is Professor Dumbledore supposed to be getting released?"

"Around next week," Harry shuddered. "Just the thought alone sickens me."

Nodding her head in a grave gesture, McGonagall quietly agreed with him, "I agree, Mr. Potter. Once Dolores takes over this school, things will only get worse on all of us."

"We were thinking," Fred grinned suddenly.

When George grinned as well, everyone got frightened, "What if we didn't wait a couple more months to become expelled?"

Blaise's eyes were huge, reminding Draco of a house-elf. He explained everything to Blaise, about how the golden trio seemed to almost pity him, and how the twins no longer practiced their products on him. He started telling him all about how Ginny and even Seamus practically stalked him one morning with Lovegood, and how it looked like they wanted to talk to him, but when he approached them, they squeaked in fear and ran off. When he turned around to see what frightened them, he saw Neville with the twins shaking their heads in what seemed like fear and annoyance.

"And now your father's acting odd as well?"

Draco nodded his head. "He came to me today, pulling me out of school. He seemed different."

"How?"

Draco thought back to the softness in his father's eyes when he first met him in the Headmaster's office. "It was as if he hadn't seen me over the break," he explained in a hushed tone. When he first spotted me, I thought… I thought he wanted to…" he tried to search for the right way to describe what he witnessed, "…like he wanted to cry."

"Lucius Malfoy doesn't cry."

"Exactly," Draco nodded his head, as if proving his point by such a motion. "It threw me off. At first I thought something was wrong with Mother, but then he only pulled me closer to him, and told me that it was nice to see me. Not again, but that it was nice to see me in general."

Blaise nodded his head in agreement, "That is odd."

"It gets even weirder," his stomach was curling now as he thought back to his day in the alleyway. "We went to Diagon Alley today. Father said that he just wanted to spend the day with me, and that Mother didn't know about this. We were just about to walk into a shop when I felt something."

"Like somebody threw something at you?"

Draco shook his head, "This feeling… I can't describe it. My stomach got all tightened up in little knots and my heart felt as if it were about to burst. I felt like somebody was watching me, but when I turned around there was no one there."

Blaise cocked an eyebrow at this. "Seamus told me that Potter has an invisibility cloak."

"It wasn't Potter," Draco quickly shook his head. "Or Granger or any of the Weasleys, although," his face scowled as he thought back to it, "The oldest two Weasleys were there. But it wasn't them. It was someone else. This girl."

"You couldn't see her, but you knew that it was a girl?"

"Precisely. When I stared back at the direction, my breath got all caught up in my throat; I knew I had eye contact with her. I… I don't know how to explain it, Blaise, and I know that I sound crazy, but… but it was a girl. And for a moment it felt like everything would be alright."

"Alright?" Blaise leaned forward, allowing his elbows to rest on the bed, although his knees were still crossed. Draco was lying on his back, with his hands behind his head. "Are you in love, Draco?"

Draco's mouth scrunched up, and his nose became tiny. "I don't know," he admitted. "Is that what love feels like?"

"Yes."

Draco sighed. "Tonya."

"Who's that?"

"That's the invisible girl."

Blaise started to laugh. "You named the invisible girl? Mate, you need to get laid."

"No," realizing just exactly how crazy he did sound, Draco chuckled as well. "After I decided I was just getting paranoid, I turned back to my father, but then suddenly I saw something from the corner of my eye. A girl ran past me, and she was crying. I followed her."

"Oh, is she Tonya?"

"Yeah," he nodded his head with a smirk. "She's Tonya."

"Why was she crying?"

"I knew her from somewhere," Draco explained, ignoring Blaise's question. "I instantly knew that it was her who had been staring at me. Her gaze was too familiar to me. I've stared into those eyes before. I knew her, and I just had to follow her."

"Did she recognize you?"

"I asked her where I knew her from and she said she didn't know."

"So she doesn't know you then?"

"She's American," he said suddenly.

Blaise frowned now. "We don't know any American's, mate, and I hate to break it to you, but we know all the same people."

"I know," Draco frowned as well. "I've never met any American's before her. But I know this girl, Blaise. I don't know how, but my body instantly recognized her. With her near me my breath hitched, my heart sped up, and I felt like I was safer. And that was when I couldn't even see her. I felt all those feelings when she was still just invisible."

Blaise sat back up at this point, he was scratching the back of his neck. It made no sense to him. He felt that way every time he was near Seamus, but they were in love. Draco didn't even know this girl. "Did you ask her why she was crying?"

"I asked her why she was there, seeing as how she's American, and she told me she didn't know. Then I asked her why she was crying, I wanted to know if she was hurt."

"Was she?"

He chuckled as he remembered her puzzling reply, "She said that you could say that."

"So maybe she was emotionally hurt then?"

"That's what I thought," Draco nodded his head in agreement. "I asked if she needed a healer, and she told me no. So then I asked her if she was lost, and she said that she was a long way from home if that's what I meant."

Blaise snickered at the girl's complicity, "So you can say that she's hurt, and she's a long way from home but she isn't lost. What else did she say?"

"When I said that there must be someone looking for her, she started to cry some more and she said that there was nobody. But that's not the weird part."

Blaise sighed, "Of course it isn't."

"She knew my name."

"What?"

"I introduced myself," Draco nodded his head, "To tell her who I was. She simply stated that she knew me."

"Well, you are Draco Malfoy," Blaise reminded him. "Everyone knows your name."

"That's not it," he shook his head, rubbing at his face. "I don't know how to explain it, but…" he sighed. "I know her, Blaise. I just know I do. But to make it even worse, she looked about twenty."

_"Babe!"_

_ Yawning, Draco walked out of the tiny bedroom, scratching his bare chest. Black and red colored pajama pants fell off his hips, allowing the trimmed pale blonde curls to stick out from the center of his deep v-line. "Yes, my love?"_

_ Soft blue eyes turned to him with a shy grin on her face. He saw different colors sticking out from a messy looking bun. She was wearing one of his old Quidditch jerseys that fell just above her knees. Thinking of what she wore beneath it, a smirk graced his face. "Harry just owled us."_

_ Frowning as he realized that she didn't wake him up at seven in the morning for a shag, he quickly kissed her sleep tasting lips and continued walking towards the counter. "For what?"_

_ "Ginny kicked him out."_

_ Snorting at the idea of his best friend kicking out Potter, Draco started to pour a cup of coffee. "What did he do this time?"_

_ "Ask her if she was on her period."_

_ "Bloody idiot," shaking his head as he mixed in three spoonfuls of sugar, Draco sighed. "Doesn't he know not do that by now?"_

_ "Not every girl can be lucky enough to get my wonderful fiancé," she grinned, wrapping her arms around him from behind._

_ Hearing the roaring of the fireplace, the arms pulled away from him, leaving him feeling cold. Hearing a sudden cough, even Draco turned around. He smirked when he saw the sight in front of him. Wearing a baggy grey t-shirt and long black sweat pants, Harry carried a bag in one hand with his wand in the other. His hair was sticking up in every direction._

_ "You can have the couch, Harry," the girl announced, walking back to the stove. Only now, Draco could smell the aroma of frying bacon. _

_ "What's wrong with the spare room?" Harry asked, leaving his bag on the floor of the doorway, and walking over to them. Nodding his head at Draco, and shaking his hand in a friendly way, he ended up kissing the cooking girl on her cheek._

_ Pouring an extra cup of coffee, it was Draco who answered him, "Hermione's staying with us as well."_

_ "Hermione's here?" taking the cup from Draco, Harry grinned, "Thanks mate. Why's Hermione here?"_

_ "Seamus and Neville are finally fixing her flat up for her," Draco explained, taking the seat next to Harry on the table. "And Ron's still on that Auror mission thing in Ireland. So she didn't feel like being alone at the Burrow with Molly and Arthur."_

_ "Oh. How long is she staying here for?"_

_ "A week," the girl explained, emptying the pan onto a plate, as she started to crack eggs. "She came over only last night."_

_ As if hearing them talking about her, Hermione entered the kitchen. Wearing one of Ron's t-shirts that reached her thighs, she didn't bother to put any shorts or pants on beneath it. Her hair was frizzy like it had been in school, and she was still yawning. "Morning everyone."_

_ "Good morning," they all replied back._

_ Taking the chair that Draco just climbed out of, she turned to Harry. "Ginny kick you out again?"_

_ "One day I will learn to stop asking such stupid questions."_

_ "Thanks Draco," Hermione grinned, taking a sip from the cup that he just placed in front of her. Turning back to Harry, she shook her head, "Honestly Harry. The same thing happens every month."_

_ "I know, I know," he blushed._

_ Laughing, Draco wrapped his arms back around the cooking girl. "I'm off today, love. I was hoping that we could look for houses in the wizarding world."_

_ "I thought we agreed to live in the muggle world."_

_ "But that was before I reunited with my parents and became an Auror."_

_ "I work in the muggle world, Draco."_

_ "You don't have to-"_

_ Turning away from the frying pan, she set a death glare on him, "Draco Lucius Malfoy! Unless you want to ask Ginny to allow you to sleep on the couch for a week, I suggest you don't even finish that sentence."_

_ He thought about it. The idea of being away from his darling fiancée for a week, and sleeping on a couch in someone else's home, caused him to swallow air. "You could always find a job in the wizarding world," he meekly said._

_ "That's what I thought," she smirked, turning back to the eggs before they burned._

_ Hearing laughter from behind them, Draco turned around. Harry was shaking his head, reading the muggle newspaper, while Hermione avoided Draco's gaze. "Don't forget you promised to help me shop for new furniture today, Tonya."_

Gasping for breath, Draco clutched tightly to the sheets. Quickly sitting up, he looked around his bed. It's been three hours since he was up and talking to Blaise, but once he fell asleep he started to dream of the girl from the alleyway. Cold sweat was drenching his body, and he was still having a hard time breathing. It seemed so real. Too real. He was confused though. In his dream, he was on friendly terms with Potter and Granger. He also noticed something else. He had the dark mark, and the girl was a muggle. He was engaged to her. Feeling a burning sensation on his left hand, he felt his ring finger pulsating, as if it missed something. Lying back down, he shook his head. It couldn't be. That girl couldn't be his fiancée. He doesn't even know her. Until today he didn't even know that she existed. Something else seemed odd. She looked younger in the dream, and he looked older. Lying down, he was wide awake trying to make sense of what just happened. The dream was too real to be just a dream, and his heart was racing. He had to find her. He had to ask her who she was.

**A/N: I'm an epic fail… I know… sorry! I don't know when my next update is going to be because right now too many things are happening. I'm still trying to fix all my other 300 stories from my flashkey thingy, but more importantly we're waiting on news for my uncle. On Christmas Eve we got a call from my dad's sister that my dad's twin brother was in a coma and could die any day. Then New Years Eve, we got a call saying that he woke up. An hour later, he was in a coma again. Last night my brother and my dad flew up to California to see him, and now they're talking about pulling the plug. This uncle of mine is the only one from my dad's side of the family that I really know. My mind is too complicated right now for me to focus on writing.**

**Its 2 in the morning here, but I quickly typed this chapter out because I haven't posted one yet… I owed you guys something at least. So I'm sorry that it wasn't that good or if it seemed like it was off from the entire story, my mind just isn't in the right state to write anything good right now! It's 2 in the morning, I'm eating hot pockets and peaches n' cream, listening to **_**Black Veil Brides**_** and crying while writing. I don't think anyone will be able to write good while doing this(: right now, I'm just trying to update all my stories, before I leave you guys for a while again!**


	11. Unplanned Bumps In The Past

Unplanned Bumps In The Past

_I must not tell lies. I must not tell lies. I must not tell lies. I must not tell lies._

Staring down at the scarred words on the back of his hand, Harry watched as Seamus ran downstairs from their shared dorm room. There was a worried look on his face. Sitting in the corner of the common room, he watched as Seamus looked around, scanning for somebody. Finally the shamrock colored eyes landed on Harry, and a relieved look took over his face. Harry watched as Seamus stormed his way towards him then threw a torn parchment piece into his lap. Frowning in confusion, he picked it up and started to choke.

_Seamus,_

_ We need to talk! I know you're hiding something from me! Meet me in the ROR during lunch!_

_ -B_

"What do you think 'e knows?" Seamus asked, a worried look taking over his features. Sweat was beginning to dampen his forehead already.

Shaking his head, Harry shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know Seamus. Sorry mate."

"I knew something was wrong," the Irish voice came out in a panicked squeak. "Ever since that day that Malfoy ran into Tonya in the alleyway, Blaise 'as been acting kind of off."

"Off how?" Harry questioned.

"I don't know, 'Arry," Seamus shook his head. "It's 'ard to explain it, eh… but 'e's just been off. It's like 'im and Malfoy knows something."

"It's only been two days," Harry rolled his eyes, "I'm sure that it can't be that bad."

"'E wrote me this letter didn't 'e?" Seamus argued back, his voice low and squeaky. "Do you think 'e knows that we know about Tonya?"

"They don't even know about Tonya," Harry reminded him. "Just relax Seamus, I'm sure that nothing's wrong. You two haven't really been alone lately, and he's probably just as paranoid as you."

Folding up the letter, Seamus placed it in his pocket, but he didn't look reassured by Harry's words, "I don't know 'Arry," he said, "I don't feel good about this whole thing. What about you?"

"I feel fine," he promised him. And in the truth of it he did feel fine. He didn't feel as if anything bad was about to happen. "I'm telling you, you're worried for nothing."

Taking in a deep breath, Seamus seemed to accept it for now. "When are you supposed to be leaving to meet up with the Order?" he asked suddenly. "I mean, if me and Blaise are gonna be the room then you can't get into it."

"Tonya told me not to," Harry shook his head. "Remus brought me the letter last night. Because they still have my cloak, he used it while we were sleeping to drop it off. Tonya feels that Tonks was right, and that the longer we keep disappearing the more suspicious we are. She wants our weekends to be used showing our faces around the school grounds."

"Is she coming with Tonks and Remus tonight then?"

Nodding his head, Harry looked around to make sure that no one was listening in on their conversation. "Bill's coming as well."

"Oh," Seamus nodded his head to show that he understood. Tonight was when they would go on the hunt with Dumbledore for the ring.

_"You cannot be serious."_

_ Pink painted nails were tapping against the jean covered hips, while pink painted toes tapped against the wooden floor as well. "I am dead serious!"_

_ "I'm not doing that."_

_ Soft blue met icy grey and a snarl vibrated from her throat. "Yes you are!"_

_ "No," hair flew into his eyes while his head shook back and forth. "I'm not."_

_ "Blaise is your best friend."_

_ "And Seamus is yours."_

_ "Tonight is Ginny's bachelorette party, and you know that I'm the one who's planning it."_

_ "I absolutely refuse to do it!"_

_ The toes stopped moving. The fingers stopped as well. He took a quick step back when he saw all the movements suddenly stop. "How dare you take that tone with me, Draco Lucius Malfoy!"_

_ "Don't you speak my full name, Tonya Anne Malfoy!"_

_ "Exactly," hissed a too calm voice. "Malfoy; as in I am your wife, and you will do this."_

_ "I will not!"_

_ Pointing a perfectly shaped finger at him, she wagged the pink nail in his direction, "You will do this Draco Malfoy, or you will be sleeping in the yard tonight."_

_ "Don't you mean the couch?"_

_ "No," she hissed, "I mean the bloody yard."_

_ "We live in a flat," he rolled his eyes. "We don't have a yard."_

_ "But we have a street," she hissed again. "And I will call your mother. You will not be allowed to sleep at the Manor tonight."_

_ Wincing as he thought about the power his wife had, he folded his arms over his chest, "Why do I have to do this?"_

_ "Because you promised Blaise that you would."_

_ Whining, Draco stomped his foot like a child, "That was before he told me that I had to be Seamus's date to that muggle ball thing."_

_ "Blaise is sick and unable to move right now, so he can't do it. And you're the only one that he trusts enough to not steal Seamus from him. Now suck it up and be a best friend."_

_ "Why can't Seamus go by himself?"_

_ Throwing her hands up in frustration, she released an aggravated scream. "Because it is a fucking ball, Draco, you never go alone to a ball. And he already told everyone that he would be there with his boyfriend."_

_ "But I'm not his boyfriend," he continued to argue with her. "It isn't my fault that his boyfriend had to become sick and not be able to go. And don't you start swearing at me, Tonya."_

_ Narrowing her eyes in a glare that reminded Draco of his aunt Bella, Tonya took a step towards him. "Fine then Draco, don't go."_

_ "Really?" he meant to sound relieved, but a frightened squeak came out instead._

_ Tonya stomped past him, heading into the bedroom. Draco waited a minute before releasing his breath. Once he did though, he heard the slamming sounds. Running into their bedroom, he saw all of his things being slammed into a spelled bag. "When I get out of the shower, I want you out of here. You can take all your shit, and you can get the fuck out."_

_ Running over to the bed, Draco felt his eyes warming up already. "Tonya, love, stop."_

_ "No," she shouted at him. "You promised Blaise that you would do this for him. But because you are so against gay people, you won't keep that promise. How do I know you won't break all your other promises? Do promises mean nothing to you anymore? I want you out of here!"_

_ "I do not hate gay people," he rolled his eyes. "My best mate is gay, remember."_

_ "Yet you won't go to a ball with his boyfriend," pulling her arm out of Draco's grasp, she flew the bag filled with all of his clothes out of the room. "Now get out!"_

_ "Love-"_

_ "Get out!" she shrieked, before pushing him out of the room and slamming the door in his face._

"Sorry I'm late, love," Blaise said, running into the room. Grinning, he saw that it was set up in a Slytherin setting today. In the middle of the room was a long emerald colored couch, with the love his life sitting in the center of it. "Draco had a nightmare, and I couldn't wake him up."

Seamus frowned, "Is 'e alright?"

"Something about a bird named Tonya," he noticed Seamus flinch at the mention of the name, and he raised an eyebrow at the reaction. Walking over to the couch, he sat down. "Everything alright, Seamus?"

Realizing that he must have given away the fact that he recognized the name, Seamus quickly nodded his head. "What 'appened?"

Blaise shook his head. "He wouldn't tell me. I was about to leave the room when I heard him shouting for her to not leave him. I ran over to the bed, and it took me and Nott both to wake him up."

"Theodore Nott?"

"Are there any other Nott's in Slytherin?" seeing the worried look taking over Seamus's face, Blaise turned his entire body around, "What's wrong?"

"Stay away from Nott," Seamus suddenly told him. Pulling away from Blaise, Seamus turned his entire body to face him as well. "Please, love, just promise me that you'll stay away from 'im," he saw the confusion in Blaise's face and said, "And also, can you place a spell around Malfoy's bed, so that only you can 'ear when 'e 'as another nightmare?"

"What?"

"So nobody else 'as to 'ear 'im 'aving a nightmare."

Blaise watched him, silently. Creases were beginning to take over Seamus's eyes, while his face was looking paler than usual. His red long sleeved shirt was wrinkled, and it looked he was wearing old jeans. He was hiding something, and whatever it was it was stressing him out. Seamus watched Blaise watch him. His eyebrow was arched in the way it usually came only when he was suspicious of something. His white oxford shirt was wrinkled instead of in its normally ironed state, and his black slacks looked as if it had just been thrown on. He wasn't even wearing a tie. It may have been the weekend, but Blaise Zabini never went without a tie. Something was wrong with him.

"Who's Tonya?" Blaise asked suddenly.

Fidgeting with his shirt, Seamus tried to avoid looking into his eyes, "I-I don't know."

"You're lying to me."

"Of course not."

Blaise watched the scene in front of him. Seamus was refusing to look him in his eyes, and he was nervously fidgeting. "Seamus, are you cheating on me?"

The fidgeting stopped. Seamus's head snapped up. His face was unreadable. "What?"

"You're always reminding me of how much you love me, making you look guilty of something," Blaise pointed out. His heart dropped when he saw the heated flush take over Seamus's face. "You're always whispering now, and you try to avoid me as much as you can. You're hiding something, and I know it. So tell me, are you cheating on me?"

Chuckling, Seamus realized what Blaise wanted to talk to him about today. Tonya just so happened to be a coincidence in this meeting. He saw the hurt flash in Blaise's eyes when he started to chuckle. Reaching out, he took the darkened hand into his own light hand and pressed the darkened knuckles to his pale lips. "I love you more than anything else in this world, Blaise Zabini!" he assured him. "I don't want to 'ear you thinking about those kinds of things ever again. You mean more to me than me own life. I would never cheat on you. I love you too much to even think of such a thing."

"But you're so secretive lately."

Seamus sighed. "I 'ave been," he nodded his head in agreement, "And I want to tell you. Trust me, love, I do, but I can't."

"Does it have to do with Tonya?"

Seamus's head snapped once more. "What do you know of 'er?"

Tonya was rubbing her face with both of her hands. Minus the ones in school, all of the Order was back in the headquarters once again; including Dumbledore. Sitting at the center of the table, she had an open notebook in front of her with her legs crossed on the chair. Her head was killing her, and she was feeling a bit nauseous. Molly and McGonagall were watching her suspiciously, but she ignored it. She knew what they were suspecting and to be honest, she was suspecting it as well but she didn't want to say anything about it. Then for sure they wouldn't allow her on any of the missions. Harry would most likely force Kreacher to send her back to her own time, and she would never be able to keep Draco alive from there.

"Everything is going perfectly well according to the plan then," Kingsley loudly announced. "Harry is doing better at Occlumency_, _and according to Lucius, Voldemort suspects nothing out of the ordinary."

Snape nodded his head, "Lucius is doing a splendid job at being his old self. All these weeks that I've been close to him, I never suspected anything suspicious about him."

"So why did he take Malfoy out of school?" Tonks asked, turning to Tonya.

"He said that it was more selfish than anything else," Charlie answered when he noticed Tonya was too busy drawing something in her notebook. "He said that it's been two weeks since he's seen his son alive, and he wanted to see him again. Right before he came here he saw his son dead, and he wanted to see him alive once more."

Nodding his head, Dumbledore also watched the silent girl, "When he came to my office with the request, I found something was quite odd about him. He seemed a little shocked when he first saw me, and when Draco arrived in the office he looked as if he became overwhelmed with joy. I didn't suspect anything, however."

"Are you alright, dear?" Molly asked suddenly.

Looking up from her doodle, Tonya nodded her head. "I'm just thinking. It's been three weeks since I've been here, and two weeks since Lucius has been here. I'm wondering how much we changed so far."

"I'm assuming it would be a lot," Arthur sighed.

Mad Eye nodded his head in agreement, "But it's all good change, girl. You're changing things for the better, and although I hate to admit it… Lucius is a good ally to have on our side. Now we have two Death Eaters on the inside, and we have you as well."

"I guess."

They all listened to her sigh then watched as she dropped her head and began to draw again. "Tonya," Snape called to her.

Lifting her head once more she saw him cock an eyebrow, and she silently cursed to herself. He was reading her mind. "That isn't fair, Snape."

"You cannot keep these sorts of things from us," he hissed at her. "You foolish, foolish little girl."

"What is it?" Sirius suddenly asked, wondering what the girl could have been hiding from them. So far it seemed like she only told them everything.

Mad Eye watched the silent war between the potions professor and the silent girl. Realizing he also had the ability to look into her mind, he pressed inside. He released a low growl. "We need to get her to Poppy!"

"Dammit!" standing up, Tonya glared at Mad Eye, "I am not here for your pleasure. You can't all just dive into my mind any time you feel like it. I'm not some sideshow freak. When you all decide to grow the hell up, I'll be in my room."

Standing up as well, Molly sighed, "Tonya, sit back down."

Fighting with the urge to leave them all behind, but not wanting to disrespect one of the women she loved as her own mom, Tonya sighed. Flopping back onto the chair, she ignored all the curious gazes. Snape whispered something to Dumbledore who then stood up. "I'll return back to Hogwarts now. Tonya," she looked up at him and saw a twinkle shining at her from his bright blue orbs, "Poppy will be waiting for you in my office when you arrive with Bill."

"I don't think it's safe for her to go on any more missions, Albus," everyone gasped when Snape spoke up.

Arthur and Remus were both watching Tonya with suspicious looks now, but everyone else still remained confused. "She will be fine Severus," Dumbledore shook his head, "Poppy will verify it for us, and we'll decide from then on."

Returning with a hot cup of tea, Molly set it down in front of the annoyed girl. "I have to agree with Albus," she announced, "Tonya will be fine for now. Tonya, dear – do you know how-"

"Four weeks," Tonya nodded her head, interrupting Molly's question, and causing the entire room to break into gasps. They finally understood what everyone was talking about. "If anything I would be four weeks."

_They were both lying down on the bed with Teddy curled up between them. With his hair pale blonde like Draco's, he was shirtless and lightly snoring. She giggled when she heard him snoring, and gently teased Draco, saying that he got it from him. Rolling his eyes, Draco allowed one of his hands to softly caress the toddler's face. Her hand reached over Teddy, and rested on Draco's thigh. They were both smiling at each other then they would look back down at the sleeping boy._

_ "Tonks was my cousin, you know," Draco said suddenly, "Aunt Andromeda is Mother's sister."_

_ "I know, love," she smiled, "Narcissa was telling me. And so was Andromeda."_

_ "Sometimes I wonder how Tonks would react to me watching her son. When she was alive, we never really got along. I treated her like a filthy half-breed and then as we grew older we both fought on different sides of the war," he painfully admitted._

_ "She would love the new you," Tonya smiled, taking his hand in hers. "And she would see how much Teddy loves being with his uncle Draco. You're great with him, Draco."_

_ Staring into her eyes, Draco saw the honesty in them. It caused him to blush, "What do you think?" he asked her, "About one day having our own kids?"_

"How long did you suspect this?" Charlie asked her.

"About a week now," Tonya sheepishly admitted.

Bill growled. "If you thought you were pregnant for a week, why didn't you say anything to us?"

"Because it won't last long," she quietly answered.

It was Remus who turned to the young girl he's come to love like a daughter. "What do you mean it won't last long?"

Unable to control the tears that were now falling from her eyes, Tonya sniffled as she looked up at him. She could see the concern in his eyes, and she wiped her eyes with the back of her hands. "Once we change the future Draco won't know who I am, and we'll never meet. I'll never end up pregnant."

"We need to return back to Hogwarts," McGonagall suddenly announced. It was Charlie who caught the head nods between her Snape, Remus, and Tonks. The four of them all seemed to understand something that no one else could.

"We'll see you tonight," Snape nodded his head, and stood up as well.

Continuing to wipe her tears, Tonya looked up at them. "This doesn't change anything guys. We still need to save Draco, and the rest of you. The plan stays the same."

"But Tonya," it was Kingsley who was reaching across for her hand now, "If you leave things the way they are, you'll still have a piece of Draco with you. You'll have his child."

"You guys already know too much," she shook her head. "Too much of you die."

"But Tonya-"

Interrupting Molly, she shook her head and stood back up. "Let's just drop this. This is why I didn't say anything to any of you. Just forget about this."

The two professors and the future married couple all stood in front of the floo. Quietly nodding their heads, they all had their own silent meeting. "When she returns back to the future, not only will she remember her husband but she'll remember being pregnant for four months," Tonks said.

Snape nodded his head, "And she's too stubborn. I saw it inside of her head. She's willing to become depressed just as long as she knows that Draco is alive in the future."

"The memories alone will kill her once she returns back to her own time," Remus shook his head.

Sighing, McGonagall shook her own head, "I never thought I would say this, but Mr. Weasley was right. Mr. Malfoy needs to find out about Tonya before the battle."

**A/N: Since I can't **_**not**_** write I decided on a new thing. I have really bad insomnia. Like I can't sleep at night, so I'm literally up all the way until 7 in the morning. Then I sleep until 12 in the afternoon and stay up all the way until 7 in the morning again. In the hours that I'm wide awake I'm usually hooked on tumblr or writing, so this is what I'm doing now… in all the nightly hours that I am wide awake, I am going to just write as much chapters as I can. Each night I'm going to work on just one story then upload a new chapter. Hopefully this works out for me because it's keeping my mind extremely occupied. **

**I hope you guys liked this chapter. Please review it! Let me know what you guys think of the sudden twist(: and what about the professors now plotting against Tonya's wishes? Next chapter gets more interesting, and they begin the Horcrux hunt(:**


	12. The Second Step

The Second Step

"Are you alright, mate?" Blaise asked once he returned to the dorm room.

Sitting on the edge of his bed, Draco nodded his head. "How about you? How did the meeting go?"

"Well he's not cheating on me."

Smirking, Draco rubbed his forehead, "I told you he wasn't."

"You wanna tell me what the dream was about?"

Blaise tried not to make it too obvious, but now he wanted to know all that he could about Tonya. When he asked Seamus about her he didn't say anything; he just kept insisting that it was something they were working on. Seamus seemed convinced that the American girl wasn't harmless, but Blaise found it hard to believe that Draco could find this girl out of the blue, and be so convinced that he knows her, when all of a sudden his boyfriend knows her too. Who the bloody hell is this girl?

"Mr. Finnigan," McGonagall said, passing Seamus in the halls, "Where is Mr. Potter?"

"I think 'e's in the library with 'Ermione."

"Good," looking around the hall to make sure that no one could hear or see them, she slyly passed him a note. "I'll see you soon."

"Yes Professor," waiting until McGonagall was out of his sight, Seamus opened the note.

_Mr. Finnigan, Miss Lovegood, and Miss Weasley,_

_ We agree. Mr. Malfoy needs to know the truth. Meet us at three in the potions room. It's the only safe place._

Grinning at what he read, Seamus ran around searching for his two friends. He knew that Ron was on his side as well, but agreed with the unspoken reason of why his name wasn't written down – Ron wouldn't be able to keep a secret as well as the three written names would be able to. By the time Seamus found the two younger girls at the top of the astronomy tower, they had only five minutes left until it was time for them to meet. Running as quickly as they could, Ginny slammed right into the Slytherin Prince himself.

"Oomph!"

"Ginny," coming to a complete stop, Seamus told Luna to go on without them, and tell the professors they would be right there.

"Ouch," Ginny whined, "My head."

Looking down at the girl who was now sitting on the floor, Draco sneered, "Maybe you should watch where you're running next time, Weaslette."

"Oh shut up, Malfoy," Seamus hissed back, before helping Ginny up. "Are you alright, Gin?"

Continuing to rub her now pounding head, Ginny slowly nodded it, "I think so."

"What's this?" Draco sneered again; he needed to learn why they weren't taunting him anymore. "No comebacks?"

Baring his teeth in a growl, Seamus didn't even notice his boyfriend was now at Draco's side, trying to pull Draco away. "Shove off, Malfoy."

"Seamus," Ginny winced while shaking her head, "Just let him go. Remember what Tonya said…"

Seamus groaned once Ginny mentioned the girl's name, and Blaise shook his head. Draco, however, cocked his head to the side, "What did you just say?"

In the requirement room, Blaise told Seamus that Draco knew about them, which Seamus already knew because of Tonya. So tightly gripping onto Ginny's arm, he leaned in closer to Blaise, so that only Draco and Ginny could hear them. "Please, Blaise, deal with your bloody friend."

Realizing that they were about to walk away, Draco reached out to grab Ginny, "Wait – what did you say? You mentioned Tonya. How do you know her? Is she a student here?"

"Shit!" realizing her mistake, Ginny looked up at Seamus with wide eyes. "Sorry."

Seeing the pleading look that his boyfriend was giving him, Blaise sighed. Telling Seamus that he owed him, he began to drag Draco away, ignoring the cries to unhand him so he could continue speaking to the Weaslette. Holding onto each other once more, Ginny and Seamus took in a deep breath before continuing to run towards the dungeons for their secret meeting. By the time they reached the classroom, they were both out of breath and Ginny had a huge lump on her forehead. After McGonagall healed it for her, they both sat down and explained everything that just happened. Then Seamus explained his and Blaise's conversation – minus some fluffy details – earlier.

"Him running into her must have somehow created memories of his future," Snape said in an awe sounding voice.

McGonagall also seemed amazed, "That is an extraordinary type of love right there," she nodded her head in agreement. "This helps our argument even more, Severus."

"Indeed it does, Minerva."

"That's right Professor," Luna said, "You guys wanted to meet with us because you agree that Draco should know the truth. Why?"

"We had a rather interesting meeting today," McGonagall explained. "Tonya's one month pregnant."

The three teens gasped. "Poor thing," Ginny said with tears in her eyes.

"I'm confused," Seamus admitted, "So she's pregnant? So she can't go on the missions anymore then?"

With tears in her own eyes, Luna shook her head, "No, Seamus, it means that now when she returns back to her own time, she won't be pregnant anymore."

"But why not?" as soon as the question left his mouth, Seamus gasped. He was also crying now. "Oh Merlin. Once she changes things, she'll never 'ave truly met Malfoy. They won't fall in love, they won't get married, and she won't end up pregnant."

Snape nodded his head, "But when she returns, she'll have the memories. By the time the battle comes, she'll be four months pregnant. But when she returns, she'll have lost her husband and her baby."

"It's one thing to allow her to lose her husband, but not her baby," Ginny shook her head, horrified by such a thought.

"Malfoy definitely needs to know the truth."

"Well so far, he seems to be learning a few things," Luna reminded all of them. "If what Blaise is saying is true, and Draco is dreaming of his future memories, then he should believe us once we tell him."

"No!"

Turning to the door, they all groaned when they saw the golden trio approaching them along with Neville and the twins. Neville walked straight to his girlfriend who instantly took his hand in hers. After hearing about their future together, they started dating and found how quickly they were to fall in love with one another. Crossing her arms over her chest, Hermione gave the two professors a stare of disbelief. Ron instantly stood next to his sister while Harry scratched the back of his neck. They were walking down the hall when they saw the interaction between Draco and Ginny with Seamus. Noticing how quick their two friends were to run off, they followed after them and were shocked to hear the two professors plotting against Tonya's wishes.

"But Miss Granger," Snape began, "If Tonya-"

"I agree," Hermione nodded her head before Snape could continue, "I've always agreed from the beginning that Malfoy should know the truth, but I stood by Tonya's decision because Malfoy knowing everything could still get him killed in the end. But now… now that she's pregnant, we can't let her lose everything. I'd rather have her return to a future with a dead husband, and a child to remember him by."

Seamus scrunched up his face, "Then why did you say no to us telling 'im?"

"Because," she rolled her eyes, "Isn't it obvious enough? Fate seems to be working in their favor. It was by luck that Malfoy was in Diagon Alley the other day. He met Tonya already, and now he's almost obsessed with her. That's a good thing. Now instead of them meeting after the war-"

"They've already met before the upcoming battle," Ginny gasped in excitement, "That's brilliant actually."

"And he _is_ having dreams of her," McGonagall reminded them.

Snape nodded his head in agreement, "So that's it then. We let nature take its course, and if Draco and Tonya were to somehow meet again or if Draco were to somehow come across this on his own, then so be it."

"And Tonya can never know," Harry reminded all of them. "She would kill us if she knew we were plotting behind her back."

Fred and George noticed the guilty look on Seamus's face, "Can we let Zabini know?" they both asked. When Seamus gave them a confused look, they both sighed. "He could help us out in plotting the two of them together."

"No," Snape shook his head. "Mr. Finnigan, I know how much you want to fill Mr. Zabini in on everything, and I'm sorry that he suspects you, and I understand that he knows of Tonya, but it isn't time yet. He'll learn the truth when Draco does."

Dressed warmly in long black leggings and a thigh length dress with her boots, Tonya walked closely to Bill, while following Snape down the corridor. She was annoyed when her friends all greeted her with congratulating hugs, and now she was boiling hot. Glad that the green dress was short sleeved, and she didn't have a winter coat on her this time, she looked over at Bill and shuddered. He was wearing long jeans and a winters coat over a long sleeved shirt. Just looking at him alone made her feel as if she were on fire.

"Mr. Malfoy," feeling Bill's hand wrap around her arm, Tonya stopped walking. Peering over his shoulder, she felt her heart stop completely. "What are you doing out this late?"

"I have detention, sir," replied the bitter response.

Flying her hand over her mouth, she saw his eyes meet hers once more. "Detention with whom?" Snape asked, stepping between the lines of eyesight.

"Professor Umbridge, sir," ignoring his godfather's growl, Draco felt it again. The feeling that he got the last time he was around Tonya. She was near him again. He could sense her near him. Trying to step around Snape, he realized that something was wrong. She was there. She was invisible once more, and Snape was hiding her. Cocking an eyebrow, he took a step back; "Is everything alright, Professor Snape?" his tone was harsh.

Snape matched his expression, and he quickly glanced back at where he knew Tonya was hiding with Bill. Could it be true? Could his godson really sense she was there? He was trying rather difficultly to stare at her. "Yes, Mr. Malfoy, everything is alright. I suggest you hurry off to detention before Professor Umbridge sees a reason to keep you longer."

"Yes, sir," sneaking one more glance in the direction of where he knew Tonya was, Draco gave a confused look, before shaking it off and running towards his detention.

Tonya sat on one of the chairs while Bill and Snape informed Dumbledore of what happened in the hall. Her heart was still racing at the fact that she saw Draco again, and they were shocked that he seemed to know she was there. She was filled with too many different emotions to really pay attention to the healer that was poking at her with a wand. It wasn't until Madam Pomfrey released a sudden squeal of excitement that she jumped out of her slumped state, and looked up at her. The two professors and Curse Breaker all jumped up as well.

"Is everything all right, Poppy?" Dumbledore asked, quickly moving closer to them.

"Oh yes," she nodded her head, blushing. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle anyone. I'm just excited for Tonya," being the healer for the Order, she knew of all their secrets; including the poor girl from the future.

"Does that mean she is pregnant, then?" Bill asked.

Madam Pomfrey nodded her head, "Yes. You were correct dear; you're only one month along. Congratulations!"

"Thanks," Tonya replied bitterly. "Can we go now? I don't know how long it's going to take, and I'm tired."

"Maybe you should stay back then," Bill insisted.

"No," Tonya shook her head. "In my time, Professor Dumbledore answered to the call of the curse, and put the ring on knowing what it would do to his hand. I'm hoping that seeing as how I'm just a muggle; the curse won't call to me."

Bill slowly shook his head, "I'm a Curse Breaker, remember. And I've seen some curses that don't apply to only muggles before," he told her, "But you're pregnant with a half-blood. So you have magical blood in you now, the curse will call to you as well."

Tonya thought about it for a second. That was true. She never thought of it that way, but it was too late to turn back now. She had to do this. She had to go with them, "It doesn't matter," she shook her head, "I'm still going with you guys."

Shivering as they arrived at the ruined location, Tonya suddenly got chilly once more. For some brilliant reason unknown to them, they decided to leave the invisibility cloak back at the school. Taking in the scenery, Tonya noticed that they were standing on a hill and overlooking a village. Looking back up at the Riddle house, she saw that it could have once been a beautiful manor, but now it seemed so abandoned. Remembering what Harry once told her, this was the hideout location of Voldemort until only a couple of months ago. The thought alone sickened her. Most of the windows were boarded up with tiles missing from the roof, and vines wrapping around the gate.

"It's somewhere in there," Dumbledore directed them towards the tiny broken down shack just a little away from the Riddle's house. "I've suspected it for a while now actually. Tonya," he turned towards the girl in question, "Did Harry ever mention to you, where exactly I found it?"

Thinking back to the stories that she heard before, she shook her head. "Only that you found it in the middle of the ruins of the Gaunt house."

Nodding his head, Dumbledore apologized for making them have to walk down the hill, but he stated that it was the apparation point. "Very well, we'll begin in the very center of the house then, shall we?"

Walking between Bill and Dumbledore, Tonya nodded her head in agreement. The rest of the walk was silent. It took only a couple of minutes, but soon enough they were there. This house was nothing compared to the Riddles' home, and Tonya found herself chuckling. Marvolo Gaunt found himself being such a proud pureblooded wizard who hated muggles, yet he allowed himself to live in a broken down shack with a snake nailed to the door, in the midst of rich muggles who lived in manors surrounding them. The irony of it all had her actually laughing.

"What's funny?" Bill asked, watching Dumbledore quickly search through all the wreck.

"He hated muggles," she told him, "Yet he lived amongst them, making himself seem like the filthy one."

Lightly chuckling, Bill nodded his head in agreement. "Why don't you stay over here while we search for it?"

"No way," Tonya shook her head, following Bill around. "What do you think you can do for it once we find it?" she asked, kicking around broken floor boards, "Do you think you'll be able to break the curse?"

"I can try," he shook his own head, "But I doubt it. I'll probably have to study it for a while first. Hopefully I'll find it after a while though."

She nodded her head to show that she understood. "I'm going to go look over there."

Looking up at the spot that Tonya pointed at, Bill shook his head; "It seems too dangerous."

Rolling her eyes, Tonya walked over anyways, "You're over exaggerating, I'll be fine."

Stepping into the center of the broken down debris, Tonya started rummaging through everything. She remembered Harry telling her that every time he was near one of the Horcruxes his scar would start to hurt and he would hear a humming sound as if it were calling to him, but she wasn't expecting any extra help like that tonight. The only reason Harry had a connection with the other Horcruxes was because he was one himself. Seeing a glaring light coming from a couple of feet away from her, Tonya looked over her shoulders. Bill had his back to her while digging through a pile of what looked like burnt furniture, and Dumbledore was on the opposite side of the room. She opened her mouth to call out to Bill, but quickly shut it. She suddenly remembered a story that Hermione once told her about when they broke into Gringotts for the goblet; magic can't call to the items.

Taking one step closer to the items, she heard a squeak. "Tonya," Bill suddenly called to her.

Staying in place, she felt the ground, "It's soft over here," she told him, not looking up. "I'm going to have to slowly reach for it."

"I'll call to it."

Shaking her head, Tonya lightly chuckled, "You can't; the magic on it is too powerful."

"Then move out of the way so I can reach for it," Bill told her, "I'm taller than you and my arms are longer."

"You're also heavier," Tonya shook her head.

Bill was holding his breath at this point, and so was Tonya. Dumbledore was missing now; no longer standing in the same room as them, but they could hear the light shuffling of his feet in another room. Taking a slow step, she felt the floorboards beneath her scuffle to the side. Gasping, she felt her stomach drop and her head get dizzy. This was the magic of the ring calling out to her. Ignoring it she reached for the ring, but it was still too far. Hearing a faint buzzing sound that sounded almost familiar to Bill's voice, Tonya took another step. It continued like this until the floorboards gave in completely.

"Tonya!" she heard her name being shouted, but it didn't matter. She was already falling through the house. Reaching her arms out, she tried to hold onto anything that her hands could grasp, but there was nothing there for her. Feeling a burning sensation in the palm of her hand, she saw the glistening shape coming from it. It was such a dark glimmer of despair, and it had her screaming out in agony. Looking up she saw a glimpse of fire coming towards her, but it was too late. The darkness had already claimed her, and the last thing she saw before she hit the ground was a soft fire in the dark.

_"Hullo my love."_

_ Slowly opening her eyes, Tonya looked around her. She saw that she was in her old apartment; the one in California. "D-Draco?"_

_ Stepping out from the shadows was Draco. Not the younger version of Draco, and not a memory of Draco, but the actual Draco. His chin and upper lip were covered in pale blonde fuzz, and his eyes were bloodshot. Wearing only the scarlet boxers that she last saw him in, Tonya saw scars marking up his body; "Don't worry about me, love," he smiled, sitting next to her on the bed._

_ Ignoring the pain in her every inch of bone, Tonya scuttled up against him, crying when she felt the warmth of his body. "You're so warm, Draco," she told him, welcoming the warming embrace that followed as his arms wrapped around her. "I miss you so much."_

_ "I know love, I'm watching you. Go home, Tonya."_

_ "No," Tonya shook her head, "At home, you're gone. I don't want you gone."_

_ "You're already planning on me being gone once you save me," his breath felt like ice against her hair. It was an odd sensation; for someone dead to be so warm while their breath is freezing. "I'd rather have known you, loved you, and then been killed, knowing that you'll always have a piece of me, than have you return to a time where not only do I not know who you are, but you won't have our child anymore either."_

_ "At least you'll be alive."_

_ "Is that fair?" he asked her, pulling out of her embrace, and backing away. "I won't know you, Tonya. You were the best thing in my life, and you're just going to take that away from me? It was you who showed me how to love someone. At least this way, I can watch over the both of you, and watch my child grow. But… but if you do this, I'll lose you both. And unlike you, I won't have the memories."_

_ Watching the pain take over Draco's face, Tonya brushed away the tears in her own eyes. Rubbing both of her hands over her belly, she looked down at it. "And what about me, Draco?" her voice was soft and breaking. "What about my memories? If I return now, I'll go home to where you're dead. I'll return to a time where I have to bury you, and then I'll have to raise this child on my own. So what about me?"_

_ "You won't be alone," Draco shook his head, walking back to her. "You'll have all of our friends and my parents with you. You'll have our child to love. You'll move on."_

_ "No," shaking her head, Tonya climbed out of the bed, and met him halfway. "I won't move on, Draco. I love you, and this isn't something I can just move on from. What I'm doing right now is the right thing. Besides-"_

_Chuckling, Draco nodded his head and interrupted her, "You've grown too attached to the members of the Order. You can't just abandon them and return to a time where they don't exist anymore."_

_ "There's too much at stake, Draco. If I can save lives, and help people out, then I'm going to."_

_ "I know, love," holding Tonya's face between his hands, Draco sighed. "I wish you wouldn't. I wish you would just go back home and take care of yourself. But you're too kind to do something so selfish."_

_ "Who did it?" she asked him. "Who killed you, Draco?"_

_ Smiling softly, Draco shook his head, "That, I cannot tell you love. But don't worry about that. Harry and Seamus them are working on that part. You just focus on fixing up this past that you seem so hell bent on saving."_

_ "I miss you so much."_

_ "I know. I'm with you every moment."_

_ "I hear your voice sometimes when I'm alone."_

_ Chuckling, Draco pressed his lips to her forehead, "You're never alone, love. Now go back."_

Slowly opening her eyes, Tonya looked around. Assuming from the large group of people whispering by her, and the amount of beds that surrounded her, she figured she was in the hospital wing at Hogwarts. She shut her eyes once more, and willed Draco to return. She wasn't ready to leave him yet, and she didn't even get a chance to tell him goodbye. Feeling the tears pooling the corners of her eyes, she took in a deep breath.

"Tonya!"

Recognizing the voice, she opened her eyes once more, "Bill?"

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

Nodding her head, she saw the others standing behind Bill. Dumbledore was there with Madam Pomfrey, McGonagall, and Snape. "What happened? The last thing I remember was getting the ring then falling."

"You got the ring and fell," Bill nodded his head, "That's pretty much exactly what happened. I tried to grab you, but it was too late, you were already falling. Luckily Professor Dumbledore came just in time to soften your landing. We brought you back to Hogwarts, and Madam Pomfrey healed you back up. You've been knocked out for about three hours."

Three hours? She spent three hours with Draco? It only felt like five minutes. "Thank you, Professor Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey."

"You're welcome, child," Madam Pomfrey made a clicking noise, "But don't make a habit out of getting injured. You're with child now, dear; if Albus didn't get to you in time, I wouldn't have been able to save it. Or you."

Instinctively flying her hands to her stomach, Tonya shook her head. "I saw Draco."

"We presumed," Snape nodded his head, "You were talking in your sleep."

Muttering to himself about Umbridge being a nutter, Blaise entered the hospital wing, searching for Madam Pomfrey. He was in the common room when he heard about Draco's detention with the new professor. Remembering what Seamus told him about the blood quills, he decided to sneak out so he could ask the nurse for some potions to help Draco out once he returned back to their room. Stopping when he heard the hushed voices, Blaise slowly made his way over to the curtain to listen to what was going on. Maybe the Headmaster and the other professors were plotting to fire the toad?

"What did he say, dear?" he recognized McGonagall's voice, and realized they were talking to a student about something.

Hearing a sniffling sound, Blaise craned his neck, and saw a girl that he didn't recognize lying in the bed. She was obviously crying, and the oldest Weasley looked honestly concerned about her. "He told me that he wants me to go back home to my time."

"Why would he say that?" asked Bill.

Blaise watched the girl shake her head then sigh. "He's not happy that I'm trying to change the past."

Snorting, Snape cocked an eyebrow. "Maybe you should've mentioned the fact that by changing the past, you're trying to save his life. My dear godson values his life."

Flying his hands to cover his mouth before he could make any noises, Blaise tried not to gasp. Snape had only one godson, and that's Draco. "He said that he'd rather me return to when he's dead so he can continue to watch over me and our child, versus me changing the past and him never knowing who I am," the girl, that Blaise just now noticed was American, glared at Snape, not at all frightened by him. "Obviously you don't know Draco as much as you think you do, _Severus_."

"I didn't mean to insult him, Tonya," Blaise felt woozy once he heard Snape mention the girl's name. "But you have to understand – I am dead in your time. And even in this time, the only Draco that I know is the selfish one. I understand he changes with you, but I still have not met that version of him."

"I know," she sighed. "Sorry. I'm just still touchy about my dream with him. He was still wearing the boxers I found him dead in and was covered in the scars from the curse that killed him," shuddering as she thought back to the Draco in her dreams, she wiped her tears away once more. "So tell me, where's the ring?"

Grinning, Bill pulled out a cloth from his pocket. "We wrapped it up and put it in my pocket. See, none of us put it on."

"Good," she nodded her head, "Now let's get it back to headquarters so we can lock it away."

Blaise watched as Madam Pomfrey shook her head, "You are going nowhere tonight. Mr. Finnigan has the cloak tonight, and you still need to rest."

"Why does Seamus have the cloak?" she asked.

"It's not only him," McGonagall shook her head. "The Weasley twins and Tonks are both with him as well as Miss Lovegood and Mr. Longbottom. They wanted to check out the Astronomy tower, and test their apparation abilities tonight."

"They're still training though right?"

Nodding his head, Snape assured her, "It is part of their training. They feel that if they can apparate in and out of the Ministry when the time comes, then they'll be of more use. Remus and Sirius should be arriving tomorrow night to help Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, and the two younger Weasleys."

"Well shouldn't I leave tonight then?" she asked them, "There's nobody out tonight, so it's not as if I'll be caught roaming around the school."

Deciding that he's heard enough, Blaise ran out quickly. He had to find Seamus; he had to confirm everything that he just heard. Normally, he would run to Draco with this type of information, but this was different. According to what he heard, this girl Tonya is Draco's wife from the future and she's pregnant with his child. And he dies, but she came back to protect him. Nothing made sense to him, but he recognized his boyfriend's name in there, and apparently all of the Order members are in on it. He had to do something. He had to find Seamus. He had to find out what the hell was going on.


	13. Best Kept Secrets

**A/N: Sorry that took so long to update, but I got too caught up in reading this one story that literally took me a week to read all of the series that's posted up so far and my brother and I got caught up in catching up on Game Of Thrones (kind of an awkward show to watch with your brother when all of it is about incest and whatnot, but still a good show) and I don't upload anything on Sundays because it's a movie day for me and my brother, plus yesterday was the Superbowl! Also I was helping one of my friends with a research paper for WCC and two of my best friends gave birth on Saturday (which is also my cousin's birthday) and my cousin was in the hospital because he got mobbed while celebrating his birthday at a club so needless to say I was extremely busy that day. Sorry, I'm rambling now… here's the story you've been waiting for…(:**

Best Kept Secrets

Not paying attention to where he was going, Blaise felt something hit into him and it crashed them both to the floor. Groaning as he rubbed his head, he saw Hermione mirroring him. "Granger!" he suddenly shouted.

"Zabini," she muttered back. "Why are you running like that? What are you doing out past curfew?"

"I'm looking for Seamus," Blaise shook his head then helped her to stand up. "Sorry, are you alright?"

Nodding her head, Hermione fixed her robes. "Why are you looking for him, is everything all right?"

"I know everything," Blaise told her in a low voice, "I know all about Tonya being from the future."

Hermione's eyes widened and she began to nervously fidget with her robes, "I-I don't know what you're talking about."

"I overheard them talking," he explained to her, "She's injured and in the hospital wing," seeing the sudden fear in Hermione's eyes, he realized that she didn't know this part. "She's alright now, Madam Pomfrey fixed her up. I went in there to get a healing potion for Draco."

"What happened?" she quickly asked, pulling Blaise into a hidden alcove, "Is he alright?"

Nodding his head, Blaise chuckled at the genuine sincerity in Hermione's voice, "He has a detention with Umbridge."

"Oh."

Continuing, he explained, "I saw Madam Pomfrey with Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall, and the oldest Weasley. They were all circled around a bed with a girl on it, and I overheard them talking so I stayed hidden. They didn't know I was there, and they were talking. Tonya saw Draco in a dream; how he looked when he died I guess, and he told her to go back to her time. Something about him wanting to watch over her and watch their child grow instead of never meeting her. Snape said something about his godson being selfish and she got all defensive. Then they said that Seamus has the cloak tonight with the twins and Tonks as well as Lovegood and Longbottom, so she has to sleep here tonight because they can't sneak out. And something about a ring."

"The ring," Hermione gasped, "What did they say about the ring? Did they get it?"

Nodding his head, Blaise cocked an eyebrow, "They have the ring. It's in Bill's pocket," when he saw her breath of relief, he cocked an eyebrow, "Explain, Granger. I was running to Seamus so he could tell me everything, but you'll do."

"I can't," she shook her head. "Trust me Zabini, I want to. We all do. Seamus feels so guilty for not being able to tell you, and today the twins got into a huge argument with Snape and McGonagall because they want to tell you, but we can't; you'll be in danger."

"Then I'm telling Draco," folding his arms across his chest, Blaise watched her squirm with his threat, "I'll tell him everything I heard."

Staring into his eyes to see if he was lying, Hermione sighed. He wasn't. Making him promise that he wouldn't repeat anything to anybody else, including Seamus, she slowly explained it to him. She was just about to tell him about his marriage to Seamus, when they heard somebody coming. Both flying their hands over each other's mouths, they slowly peeked their heads out. Snape and McGonagall were quickly walking towards the Astronomy tower to help Tonks teach the students how to apparate, but then they heard something else and gasped.

Tonya was slowly walking, keeping her attention on the ground and her hands on her stomach, not paying attention to the front of her. Draco was walking towards her, also not paying attention. Blaise and Hermione both searched the corridor, wondering where Bill or Dumbledore was, but they saw that no one else was coming. Bumping into each other, but not hard enough to cause either of them flying to the floor, Draco looked up, ready to hex whoever bumped into him, but he gasped instead.

Hearing the familiar gasp, Tonya quickly lifted her head and dropped her jaw. "Draco."

"You're crying," he said, reaching out for her and frowning when she moved back. "Why is it you're always crying?"

Noticing the hand that reached out for her, she saw the fresh blood and frowned. "Did you have a detention with Umbridge tonight?"

Nodding his head, he cocked an eyebrow, "What are you doing here?" there was hope in his eyes, "Are you a student?"

"No," she shook her head, "I…erm… I'm here on business."

"What kind of business?"

"It doesn't matter," sighing, she pointed to his hand, "Give me your hand."

"What?"

"I want to see how badly you're hurt," she told him, "Give me your hand."

Hermione released a yelp while Blaise gasped. Nobody would have expected what happened next. Holding Draco's hand in hers, Tonya traced the bleeding words with her fingers; _I will not sneak,_ and she lightly chuckled. They were the same words that Draco had scarred into the back of his hand when she met him. He told her he had to write those particular lines because Umbridge caught him sneaking around the castle one night searching for something to eat because he missed dinner that night. Feeling a warm sensation coming from the hand in hers, Tonya felt her tears falling onto his hand and gasped.

"How?" Tonya asked him.

Watching in awe as the blood began to wash away while the carved words began to scar already, Draco's eyes met hers and he saw she was more frightened than anything. "Who are you?" he asked her.

Feeling Draco's thumb begin to graze her hand, Tonya roughly yanked her hand away from him. "I-I…" looking up at him, she shook her head. There was pain in his eyes; pain that she didn't understand. "You're not supposed to know me," she told him in a low voice, "Please, I'm supposed to be protecting you."

"Protecting me?" Draco took a step closer to her, "Protect me from what? Why do I know you? Please, tell me…"

Blaise and Hermione both stared at each other in shock at Draco's pleading. Hermione heard all about how different Draco turns out and she saw the pictures, but this time it was different… this time she was witnessing it. Blaise was just as shocked as Hermione was; he's seen his friend have his kind moments once in a while, but this was new to him as well. Draco was allowing himself to be open to someone new, someone he's only met for a total of five minutes, someone he didn't even know. This was a Draco that even Blaise didn't know. This was a Draco that had Hermione praying for a better future. This was a Draco that caused fresh tears in Tonya's eyes.

"I-" hearing a noise, Tonya turned around quickly to see where it was coming from.

"Malfoy!"

Widening her eyes, Tonya looked up at Draco when she heard someone calling his name, "Who's that?" she asked him.

"Nott-"

"Theodore Nott?" fear flashed across her face, and Tonya started to run towards the nearest hidden alcove, "Please, Draco… don't let anyone know about me."

Hermione squealed when Tonya moved against her, and Tonya's eyes darkened when she saw Hermione hiding with Blaise. She opened her mouth to say something, but instantly Blaise had his hand over her mouth and shook his head; warning her to not make any sounds. Glaring at Hermione, Tonya nodded her head at Blaise then turned to peek out of the hiding spot. She saw a rabbit looking boy dressed in Slytherin colored robes approaching Draco. Draco's eyes drifted to where she was, but Nott didn't seem to notice anything about it.

"Why the bloody hell are you shouting my name like that?" Draco sneered at his dorm mate. "Do you want Umbridge to catch us?"

Flashing teeth that reminded Tonya even more so of a rabbit, she saw the boy smirk about something; "Actually," he told him, "I just left Umbridge; she was the one who told me to look for you around this corridor, she seemed to know you would be on your way to the hospital wing."

Hiding his newly healed hand in the pocket of his robe, Draco quirked an eyebrow; "I served my detention, what could she possibly want with me?"

Glancing around the corridor to make sure they were alone, Nott leaned in closer to him, "She's gotten word that a couple of Gryffindors are sneaking around the Astronomy Tower with Loony Lovegood."

"And what does she expect me to do about it?" he growled, annoyed that Nott was taking up his time with Tonya, and also annoyed at the fact that Tonya seemed to fear Nott for some reason.

"She wants you to bust them."

"Why can't you do it?"

"I need to retrieve something from Snape for her."

Draco recalled hiding from Snape and McGonagall earlier that night; actually, now that he thought about it – they seemed to be heading towards the Astronomy Tower. "I saw him heading towards the dungeons," he lied.

"Very well," turning away from Draco, Nott released a sigh then turned back, "You should keep an eye on Zabini, Malfoy."

It was Tonya who flew both of her hands over Blaise's mouth and leaned in to whisper, "Shut up! If we get caught, you'll be killed alongside Draco. And Seamus doesn't need that," she slowly removed her hands when he nodded his head to show that he understood.

"Why should I do that?" Draco called out to Nott, who started to leave again.

Keeping his back towards Draco, Nott chuckled; "Rumor has it he's been slithering around the lions' den."

Draco stayed silent; he couldn't move. How the hell did the rumors start? How did Nott know about Blaise and Seamus? Watching as Nott disappeared, he didn't notice Tonya poke her head out from the corridor then stick it back inside. She was glaring at a sheepish looking Hermione and a confused looking Blaise.

"What the hell happened?" she hissed at Hermione, pointing at Blaise.

"He went to the hospital wing looking for Madam Pomfrey and overheard you guys talking," Hermione whispered in a low voice. "He threatened to tell Malfoy everything if I didn't tell him the truth."

Groaning, Tonya glanced back at Draco who was still frozen in his spot. "Dammit! Can you obliviate him?"

"Oi!" Blaise scowled, "That could cause me permanent brain damage you know. Besides, I might be able to help you guys."

"No," Tonya shook her head, "This is too dangerous. How much do you know already?"

"That you're Draco's wife from the future and you're pregnant and you came back to prevent him from being killed. But then again that's all I know from what I heard in the hospital wing."

"I was just telling him about the future, and how he's married to Seamus," Hermione whispered, also peeking to make sure Draco hasn't moved yet. "We saw Snape and McGonagall heading towards the Astronomy Tower then you and Malfoy bumped into each other."

"I'll figure something out," Tonya groaned. "Bill is still in the hospital wing with Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey. I was heading back to the room when I bumped into him," looking up at Blaise, she sighed, "This is important Blaise, you cannot tell Draco anything."

"He already suspects something," Blaise warned her.

"What do you mean?"

"He's been dreaming of the future."

Tonya didn't notice Hermione stepping on Blaise's foot nor did she see the glare that Hermione gave him to shut up; but she did see Draco starting to walk towards them. "Damn," she hissed out. "Stay here until we leave, make sure no one sees you guys. And for now, don't tell Seamus that you know. I'll contact you in a couple of days."

Running out of the alcove before Draco could enter it, Tonya smiled sheepishly at him. He gave her a confused look, but didn't say anything about it; he heard whispering from inside the alcove proving that she wasn't the only one hiding in there, but he didn't want to question her on that right now. He had more important information to get out of her: like whom she was, why he was dreaming about her every night, why she was always crying when she looked up at him, and why she was wearing his family's ring – wait…

Seeing Draco's eyes on her hand, Tonya followed his gaze and gasped. Quickly sticking her hand into the coat pocket, she looked up and saw him staring deeply at her. "Draco-"

Why hadn't he noticed it before? She touched his hand earlier, so why didn't he notice his family's ring on her finger? "My dreams," grabbing her hand and yanking it out of her pocket, Draco brushed his fingers over it, "It's the same ring from my dreams. This is muggle jewelry blended in with my family ring. But how did you get it?"

Tugging at her hand to pull it away from him, Tonya began to search the corridors. She looked over at the alcove, but shook her head. She didn't want Hermione or Blaise to be caught right now. "I-I-"

"Who are you?" he asked her again, urgency in his voice this time.

"I told you," she told him, avoiding looking anywhere in his eyes. "My name is Tonya."

"Tonya what?"

"This wasn't part of the plan," she said, chewing on her bottom lip. "Everything is wrong."

"What plan?" he asked her, pleading with his voice, urging her to meet his eyes. "Why am I dreaming about things that have never happened?"

"They have happened," she sighed.

"Tonya!" running over to the scene he just walked in on, Bill saw Draco with tears in his eyes, and Tonya equally crying. "What happened?" he quickly asked them. "Malfoy, are you hurt?"

Shocked that Bill Weasley was concerned about him, Draco looked up at him and shook his head; "I don't think so."

"Tonya," Bill turned to her, "What happened?"

"We had a bit of a run in," she said, moving both of her hands up to her face to wipe away her tears.

Bill's eyes landed on the ring on her finger and he nodded his head to show he understood, "Malfoy, you should go up to your room. It wouldn't be wise for you to be caught wandering the castle this late."

"Tonya-" Draco was confused. She was wearing his ring; a ring that only his father had access to then he gasped as he remembered that day in the alleyway when they first met, it seemed like his father was trying his hardest to keep him away from her, like he didn't want them talking. "My father-"

Hearing Draco's realization, Tonya also gasped. "Draco," she pleaded with him, moving in closer and silently thanking Bill for giving them their space, "You have to trust me, you need to drop this; you cannot ask questions, they'll kill you if they catch you. All of this will be for nothing if I'm caught."

"Who are they?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," she told him, sadness coating her voice. "Don't trust Nott," she whispered low enough for only him to hear her. "Blaise is on your side."

"Does Blaise know?" he asked her, feeling betrayed by his best mate. Blaise knew how insane he was going trying to figure out who this girl was.

Shaking her head, Tonya weakly smiled; it was breaking her to lie to him, but she had to protect him. "No."

"I dream of you."

Nodding her head, she weakly smiled again. "I know."

"You won't tell me who you are, will you?" she shook her head and he sighed, "Or why you're here?" she shook her head again. "Can you at least tell me why you're wearing my ring?" she shook her head again, and this time he slumped his shoulders in defeat; "You're going to be extra careful to avoid me from now on aren't you?" this time, she nodded her head and Draco felt jealousy shoot through him when Bill wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "My father knows?"

Slowly nodding her head and swallowing back her tears, Tonya's eyes met his; "A lot of lives are at stake here, Draco."

"Including his?" Tonya nodded her head again. "And if I ask my father about you?"

"You'll both be killed within seconds."

Draco nodded his head showing her that he understood. So he couldn't ask his father about this girl and she obviously wouldn't tell him anything. He had a feeling that Blaise knew more than the girl led on, and he sighed. "I'll figure it out," he told her.

This time it was Bill who smiled weakly, and Draco saw the pain in his eyes causing him to flinch. "We're hoping on it Malfoy."

"No we aren't," Tonya hissed, "Bill, we need to leave. Umbridge should be here in a couple of minutes."

Draco's eyes met Bill's and he smirked; maybe he just found somebody to help him.

**Please review! The updating should go back to normal soon because everything is calming down over here now(: -also I realized that I'm not fully following the sequences of OoTP because Dumbledore is still here, but he should be leaving by the next chapter(:**


	14. Some Plans Are Meant To Change

**A/N: Exchanged letters between people will be in **_**Bold Italic**_** whereas song lyrics will be in just **_Italic_! **Tonya will be singing a song in this chapter and I'm going to turn this chapter into a song-fic based off the song. It matches the situation and whatnot, and personally I just love this song(: I own neither: **_**In This Life **_**nor do I own Braddah Iz (Israel Kamakawiwo'ole) although I did know him and he did sing at my 1st birthday luau! (:**

Some Plans Are Meant To Change

_**Blaise,**_

_** I thought about it… this is too dangerous. I would rather you not do anything, but knowing you as much as I do (we are best friends after all) I know that if I keep anything from you, you would only do something stupid that would get us all killed and that would change the future more than I hoped to, and not in a good way! Owls aren't safe – they're being intercepted and read. I'm giving this to Seamus to give to you. He'll tell you everything that you need to know. I cannot stress enough how important it is that you don't tell Draco anything. If you need to get a hold of me or if you have any questions that only I can answer, give a letter to Tonks or Remus and they'll give it to me. Dumbledore is no longer at Hogwarts so I know I don't need to tell you how much things are about to change for the rest of the year. It's extremely crucial that you don't get caught, Blaise… for your own safety – no one can know about you meeting with anyone outside of your own house. Do not trust Umbridge and please keep an eye on Draco. Hermione told me that he's been moping around school since that night we ran into each other. Get him out of it; if anyone suspects something his life will be at stake. Please watch over your shoulders and trust no one other than the Order!**_

_** Love,**_

_** Tonya**_

Nodding his head at his boyfriend who carefully watched him, Blaise followed Seamus into the Room of Requirements. He was shocked to see that it was already filled with people though. Snape and McGonagall were in there with the twins, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Luna. Sitting on the couch next to Seamus, Blaise nodded his head for someone to start explaining everything to him. Hearing something on the side of him open up, he quirked an eyebrow – why was Bill Weasley walking out of a portrait?

Inhaling the deep scent of honey and bacon, Sirius walked downstairs. Charlie and Remus were sitting at the table while Tonya hummed to herself at the stove. Looking around, Sirius saw that Kreacher was nowhere to be found. He also saw that Tonya was still in her pajamas: long blue pajama pants with white clouds on it, and a plain white long sleeved shirt that hugged her body a little bit, with fuzzy light blue socks on her feet. He raised his eyes, but the two sitting males shook their heads at him warning him to be quiet.

"Good morning," Tonya smiled while turning to look at him, and Sirius saw that she was crying again. That's odd – he didn't hear her the night before. "I was craving honey bacon, and Kreacher just doesn't know how to make it the way that I like it, so I'm giving him a break for now. How do you want your eggs?"

"Erm…" looking over at the other two, Sirius saw that they were scared about something, "However you're eating them, pet."

"Alright," Tonya beamed, "Sunny side up, it is then."

Once Tonya's back was turned to them again, Sirius leaned into Charlie and hissed, "What the hell did you two do?"

"Erm…"

Seeing Charlie stuttering about what to say, Remus rolled his eyes; "Read this," he said, pushing a letter into Sirius's hands.

_**Kreacher just came to me. Why the bloody hell didn't anyone tell me I'm going to be a grandfather? This changes everything! As much as I want my son to still be with us, I want to hold my grandchild as well. This is going to kill Tonya once she returns. We need to meet! Tonight at seven. You know where. Kreacher will be there to let you guys in.**_

Groaning, Sirius nodded his head then slipped the letter into his pants pocket. Lucius Malfoy was right. This did change everything. Tonya may think that she still wanted to change the future, and it pained Sirius to know that in the end he would still die, but Lucius was right. Losing this child wasn't worth saving all of their lives. Turning his attention back to the now singing girl, Sirius listened to her lyrics; feeling an ache in his heart. Sirius knew that his other two tablemates were feeling the same emotions as him. They all watched as Tonya took out the strips of bacon that she had been soaking in the bowl filled with honey then threw them into the frying pan.

_For all I've been blessed with in my life_

_There was an emptiness in me;_

_I was imprisoned by the power of gold._

_With one kind touch you've set me free._

"This is us?" Blaise asked, holding the picture in his hands. Everyone nodded their heads at him and he traced the picture of the large group then smiled at the happiness in his best mate's eyes. "Draco looks so happy."

"Apparently he is very happy," Fred beamed.

"And you all agree that he has a right to know?"

"Precisely, Mr. Zabini," McGonagall nodded her head, "But as Miss Granger told us, you've seen Tonya's reaction when she realized that you learned the truth. She's determined to make sure Mr. Malfoy doesn't find out anything."

Putting the pictures back onto the table in front of him, Blaise shook his head; "Draco knows something though. Ever since that day in the alley, she's all he ever talks about. He dreams of her, about things that never happened before. He sees her in his arms and he dreamt of arguments and a wedding; memories that haven't been created yet."

"I researched that," Hermione stood up now, "The morning after Draco saw Tonya's ring and I told you most things, I went to the library."

"What else is new?"

Glaring at Ron until he turned a beet red and mouthed that he loved her, Hermione cleared her throat then continued; "I think it might be because she's pregnant. Tonya being here is not only disrupting the timeline of the way things are supposed to be, but now there's two of her here. You said that Draco felt an instant connection to her?"

"Yeah," Blaise nodded his head. "When she was under the cloak he could sense her there. He told me that it was like something was calling to him, pulling him towards her – he knew she was there before he could even see her."

"Tonya told us that he could always sense her before he saw her," Bill frowned. "Is Draco a Veela?"

"Not that I know of," Blaise shook his head then turned to Snape who also shook his head in assurance. "I mean if he was a Veela then that would explain everything; they were meant to be… so what do you think it is then?"

"Well if you guys would listen to me," Hermione coughed then grinned when everyone turned back to look at her; "In a way they _are _meant to be. Draco didn't know where he was apparating to when he left right after the war. He just shut his eyes and left. I did some research and I think that it was meant that he landed in the alleyway that Tonya was walking past at that precise moment."

"It is a creepy coincidence," Neville sighed, "But that's all it is, Hermione."

"Yeah," Harry nodded his head in agreement with Neville.

"I don't know," Ginny shook her own head, "I think that's kind of sweet. In order to apparate you need to think of exactly where you're going and you need to say your destination. Do you know what his words were when he apparated?" she asked everyone, hoping someone would know the answer.

"Home," replied the softest voice in the room. "I asked Tonya one night when she came here and she told me that he told her when he shut his eyes, he said he just wanted to go home."

George looked as if he didn't know whether he wanted to smirk, frown, laugh, or cry. "Home? He asked to go home, and he landed at her feet? Right there's saying that they're meant to be."

Sighing, Bill nodded his head in agreement with what his brother just said, "What else did your research say, Hermione?"

"Time traveling is never a guaranteed thing," she told all of them, "Remember our third year? We almost got caught by ourselves, Harry."

Turning on them, Fred started to choke, "Wait – what? When did you guys time travel?"

"That's of no importance at the moment, Mr. Weasley," McGonagall told him then turned to Hermione, "Please go on Miss Granger, I think I might know where you're going with this."

Nodding her head, Hermione continued while the twins eyed her with jealousy. "When you travel in time you could alter the tiniest of thing; it could be the simplest thing like killing a butterfly that you haven't killed before. It may not seem like it, but even an act as simple as that could result in something traumatic – it's known as the Butterfly Effect. By traveling into the past to save hundreds of innocent lives, Tonya is also alternating all of our thoughts and actions. Dumbledore stayed at Hogwarts longer than he was intended to and in result, Umbridge hasn't caught us yet."

"But what does that have to do with Draco dreaming of the future?"

"Tonya isn't the only one here trying to change things," Hermione pointed out. "Come to find out, Lucius is here as well, and now… well now-"

"Now we find out she's pregnant," gasped Snape before turning to McGonagall, "You don't think-"

"I do, Severus," McGonagall nodded her head. "Tonya brought a piece of Mr. Malfoy's flesh with her to the past."

Looking between the two grim look professors, Bill began to panic, "Is that bad? What does that mean?"

"It means, Mr. Weasley-"

"-That we need to tell Draco everything before he pieces it together on his own," Hermione told everyone.

"You were the one who told us to play it out and let him find out on his own," Harry reminded her. "We wanted to tell him, remember, but you pointed out to us that he was already figuring it out without our help."

Snape stood up, "You do not understand, Mr. Potter, we don't have time to let Draco solve things on his own. A piece of him is residing inside of Tonya. It's not her that he's drawn to – it's their child."

"Is anything bad going to happen them?" Luna asked. For the first time she didn't seem so serene. Fear filled her eyes while it shook in her voice.

Hermione didn't show as much confidence as she hoped to. "If anything happens to Draco in this time, Tonya will become hurt as well."

"What?" everyone shouted.

"That child shares Draco's blood; a part of his soul is in him. The child recognized his father and Draco recognized him as well – even if he doesn't realize that it's his child. Technically… in this world, Draco hadn't fathered the child yet. He hasn't slept with Tonya yet, or properly met her, you see. In a way the child is linked through Draco –surviving off of the Draco in this time, trying to struggle to still exist. So if Draco gets injured or killed in this time it will affect the child-"

"And since the child is also connected to Tonya," Ginny gasped with realization.

"-Tonya will become injured or be killed as well-" Neville also gasped.

_Let the world stop turning,_

_Let the sun stop burning;_

_Let them tell me loves not worth going through._

_If it all falls apart, I will know deep in my heart;_

_The only dream that mattered had come true-_

_In this life, I was loved by you._

Lying on his bed, Draco kept the curtains drawn around his bed and stared blankly up at the ceiling. He was so used to dreaming about Tonya, but the past nights he had been dreaming of himself instead; an older version of himself where he looked happy and he didn't look so sickly anymore. It was the version of him that he often saw dancing or laughing with Tonya in his dreams, but this time he was only seeing himself. One moment he would be standing in front of a mirror and grinning to himself then it would switch over to him sitting on the edge of a bed and holding his face in his hands. He could be laughing on the phone or he could be arguing with someone that he couldn't see. He would be standing in the kitchen and making himself a bowl of cereal while humming to a song that he's never heard of before then he would be standing on a balcony, gripping the rail tightly and leaning against it with a hard look of concentration on his face.

Last night's dream was the most intense though; last night he was sitting on his bed in the Slytherin common room – _him_; the sixteen year old version – and his older version came to talk to him. It felt so real that Draco could have sworn there was still an indention on the edge of his bed where his older version sat down. He looked tired and nothing like the carefree man that he'd dreamt of before; his eyes were bloodshot and he was pale again. He kept warning him – telling him that he needs to keep his eyes open and listen to everyone around him; he warned him that if he continues to just ignore his surroundings then all of Tonya's work will be for nothing and in the end he'll still be killed.

That was what woke him up – yanking him from his sleep by gasping and trying to breathe. The last thing he saw was a dark cloaked figure sneaking into his room and pointing his wand at the older version of himself. He opened his curtains after a couple minutes of wheezing, but Blaise was already gone. He was confused and he was frightened. What did he mean he would still be killed? And what about Tonya's work being for nothing – what was Tonya working on? What did he need to pay attention to… what the hell was going on at Hogwarts? And what the hell was going on with his best mate?

_For every mountain I have climbed,_

_Every raging river crossed;_

_You were the treasure I longed to find_

_-without your love, I would be lost._

"Where is everybody else?" walking into the sitting room, Tonya saw that Bill was by himself and reading something.

Quickly stuffing the note into his pocket, Bill flashed a smile at Tonya and shrugged his shoulders, "Meeting with Dumbledore. They umm, didn't wanna wake you."

Yawning just on cue as if to prove Bill's point, Tonya chuckled then rolled up her hair. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah," he nodded his head, "They're just going over what's going to happen now that Dumbledore's out of Hogwarts and Umbridge is in his place. I went to see McGonagall them today."

"Oh right," curling her legs up beneath her body, Tonya yawned again. She just woke up from a four hour nap, but it still felt as if she hadn't slept in years. "How did that go?"

"Well Umbridge's trying to ban Snape from having his classes make the Murtlap Essence, but she doesn't frighten him, and McGonagall has been teaching her classes to transfigure needles into feathers and back, so if the time were to ever come, feathers will come in handy."

Laughing at the idea of the two professors working together to annoy Umbridge, Tonya tried to picture it. She had never met the toad of a woman before or seen her, but she's heard enough stories to picture it quite vividly. "So you were there when they explained everything to Blaise then?" she asked suddenly.

"Yes," Bill nodded his head, praying that Tonya wouldn't be able to tell anything was wrong. "He was very quick to believe us and he especially liked the photos that we showed him."

"Is he pissed with Seamus for keeping it from him?"

"He was in the beginning, but once we explained why we didn't want him knowing the truth, he sort of calmed down on him. He's going to start training with us."

Tonya snapped her head up. "What? Why? He needs to be with Draco, and keeping an eye on him. Draco's been dreaming about the future, Bill. Blaise is the only one who can stay close enough to him to make sure that nothing goes wrong."

"He's going to," Bill nodded his head, trying to assure her. It was hard to explain that Blaise was training how to fight so he could join them at the Ministry when the time comes. "But he figured that it might be better for him to know how to defend himself just in case something happens. After all, you've already changed the past to the degree that even you can't determine things anymore."

Bill stood up and walked into the kitchen before Tonya could spot everything wrong in what he just said. Hearing her follow him, he sat at the table where Kreacher had laid out a pot of stew and a basket filled with breads. Sitting across from each other they began to silently eat their dinner; both had different thoughts with the same outcome. Tonya looked up at Bill and she knew that he was hiding something from her, he had the same guilty look on his face now as he did in her time – his jaw twitched as if he were chewing on the inside of his bottom lip while his eyes darkened just a little bit. It was Fleur who told her how to determine when Bill was guilty about something, and right now she was glad that Fleur gave her the awkward information.

"Draco told me I'm being selfish," Tonya said suddenly, breaking the silence, "By staying in the past and changing the future. He said that right now he's able to watch over me, and once I give birth he'll be able to watch over our child, but that once I change everything and he lives again he won't be able to see us grow older. You don't think I'm being selfish… do you?"

Chewing his bread slowly, Bill contemplated on the right answer. "You're doing this to save many lives. You're not only saving his life, but you're also saving Dumbledore, Sirius, Mad Eye, Remus, Tonks, Fred, and everyone else. So I don't think you're being selfish, but I do think you aren't fully thinking everything through."

"Is that what everyone thinks?" Tonya asked him. "That I'm a fool who hasn't thought everything through?"

"A little," Bill smiled.

"I'm not," Tonya shook her head. "I did think it through. But we all have sacrifices to make, Bill, and I know what I'm sacrificing, and it may be a little selfish of me but I'm willing to give it all up if it means that everyone can live again."

"Sacrificing everything doesn't make you selfish," Bill told her.

"It does," Tonya lifted her head so that her eyes could meet his, "When I'm gladly willingly creating a future that means my child won't exist because it means that I won't have to see Draco in his features every second of my life."

"The hardest part about losing someone is letting them go."

"I'm already letting him go," Tonya reminded Bill, pushing her half uneaten plate away and standing up. "I just want to make sure that if I'm doing this, I do it the right way and that there's nothing left for me to hold on to."

_Let the world stop turning,_

_Let the sun stop burning;_

_Let them tell me loves not worth going through._

_If it all falls apart, I will know deep in my heart;_

_The only dream that mattered had come true-_

_In this life, I was loved by you._

Charlie sat between Remus and Sirius while Kreacher left them alone. They left a note behind for Bill to read and told him to tell Tonya that they were meeting with Dumbledore if she asked where they were, but they were instead waiting for Lucius to arrive. He told them that he might be late if anything, but that Kreacher would be there to greet them – which he was. In the beginning they wondered why the house-elf would go behind their backs and go to Lucius, but then Sirius remembered – this Kreacher was from the future which meant that he still listened to Harry's orders instead of Sirius's orders. The Harry from this time knew about the pregnancy which meant that future Harry did as well and he must have called on Kreacher and gave him the order to inform Lucius of their little bump in the past.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Lucius announced, rushing through the doors and taking his cloak off. "The Dark Lord was going over his plans to kill Harry. I couldn't just leave without it being noticed."

"Are you alright, Lucius?" Sirius asked him, "It must not be easy for you to have to relive this."

"I'm alright," the blonde sighed, sitting across from them. "It helps me to remember that in my time he's dead. But we're not here because of that-"

"We're here because Tonya's pregnant," Charlie nodded his head. "We only found out a couple of nights ago."

Sighing, Lucius began to rub his eyes, "And she doesn't want to return back home?"

"She's determined to finish what she started when she came here," Remus told him.

"She was always such a foolish girl," Lucius grimly smiled. "That's why we all loved her; she never thought of the outcome that her actions would have on herself as long as others were happy."

"We recovered the ring," Sirius announced. "And Blaise Zabini found out the truth the same night – it was also the night that we found out Tonya was pregnant."

"Draco also knows something now," Charlie warned him.

Snapping his head up, Lucius had a grim look in his eyes now; "What do you mean he knows something now? What does he know?"

Lucius kept a firm grip on his walking stick while the other three males all gave him a full blow by blow account of everything that had happened since they last met with him. Clenching his teeth and tightening his grip, Lucius silently cursed his son for being such an observer. His keen senses would most likely only get him killed earlier than was meant to be. He listened silently to everything that he was being told, and he gladly accepted the glass filled with muggle whiskey that Remus was now pouring for him.

"My son is a fool," Lucius finally said. "He needs to stay out of this. Tonya isn't sacrificing my grandchild just so he can get killed at fifteen."

"We all agree that he needs to know the entire truth though, Lucius."

"I agree," Lucius nodded his head. "It would be best for him to learn everything, but as you all know I cannot be the one to tell him."

"He already knows not to contact you. Tonya warned him that you would be killed. He has enough sense to believe her warnings so far."

"I love my son," Lucius told them, "And like any father, I hated seeing his dead body like that. I supported Tonya's mission to return to the past and save Draco's life, but now that she's pregnant, I'd like nothing better to do than drag her back into our own time by her hair and hold onto her as we bury my son. I'm going to be a grandfather and losing my son is a sacrifice I'm willing to make to ensure that my grandchild lives a happy and carefree life. I know that Draco would feel the same way."

"He does," Charlie frowned, "Draco went to Tonya in a dream and told her so, but she's ignoring him. She refuses to give up."

Sighing, Lucius drained his full glass in only one sip. "It seems that the simplest girl I had ever met is now becoming anything but simple."

_I know that I won't live forever,_

_But forever, I'll be loving you._

"He wanted kids, you know," Bill was now sitting on Tonya's bed and listening to the freshly showered girl talk to him. "We talked about it one day. We were babysitting Teddy and he was sleeping between us; he had his hair like Draco's, and earlier in the day his eyes had been like mine, and we were both watching him; listening to him snore as he curled up between us both. Draco began telling me about how Tonks was his cousin and how he never really took the time to know her because he was raised to hate her. He was nervous about what she would say if she knew that he was the one who was helping to raise her son."

"Tonks would have been proud of the man that he grew up to become," Bill smiled proudly, glad to know that his words were true. "Tonks and I are the best of friends; she and Charlie are the same age, you see, and we've all known each other all our lives. She would have forgiven Draco for everything that he's ever done before and she would have been proud to know that her cousin was having a hand in raising her son."

Tonya grinned as she thought back to that day and slightly chuckled. "That's what I told him. That was the first day he mentioned anything about one day having our own kids. He said that he wanted his own Quidditch team like the Weasleys," she started laughing while Bill also chuckled. "He told me that he thought your mom and dad had the right idea and that he wanted six boys and only one girl. He wanted our daughter to be the youngest, just like Ginny, so that all her big brothers could protect her and look out for her; he said that she would be the most spoiled one and she would be his little princess and he would dress her up in nothing but pink, and that she would be sorted into Slytherin and locked up until she was eighty."

"Every father's dream for their daughter," Bill grinned. "I remember when you told me that, in your time, my wife is pregnant and I'm having a daughter – I pictured myself buying every pink thing in sight and was already planning on locking her up in the highest tower so that no male could ever see her."

Laughing to the point that she was in tears, Tonya nodded her head. "You did… that was your exact reaction. Well… after you had a mental breakdown of course."

"What about you?" Bill asked her, pleased to see that Tonya was laughing and enjoying herself now, "Did you dream of a huge family like Draco did?"

"No," she snorted. "I told him that he was out of his mind. It wasn't that I didn't want to be pregnant; I just didn't want that many kids. I told him that two or three would be enough and not to expect any more than that. And I told him that I wanted a girl first so that she could boss her little brothers around and that no daughter of mine would be obsessed with pink. I wanted to get her hooked into crimson and gold for when she got sorted into Gryffindor."

"I imagine he took the news well."

"He told me that he would slip me potions to make sure I had seven kids and that the first six were all boys," Tonya chuckled as the silent tears trickled down her cheeks. "I didn't admit it to him, but I didn't care how many kids we had. We could have had eleven for all he wanted, as long as he was happy. I would watch him with Teddy and I knew that he would be great with our kids. After Fleur announced she was pregnant, he was really excited and he went out and brought all sorts of things for you guys; claiming that he was already spoiling her so that he would be her favorite uncle."

"We'll figure something out," Bill promised her. "I don't know how… even if you have to live in this past forever just to keep your child – we'll figure something out. I promise you Tonya, we won't let you lose your child. Or Draco."

_Let the world stop turning,_

_Let the sun stop burning;_

_Let them tell me loves not worth going through._

_If it all falls apart, I will know deep in my heart;_

_The only dream that mattered had come true-_

_In this life, I was loved by you._

**A/N: Okay, it may have seemed a bit rushed and that's because it was… I have so many things going on at once that I did rush through this chapter a bit so I apologize for that. This wasn't my best work and I'm ashamed, but I figured you guys would appreciate a chapter after waiting for so long(:**


	15. In The Memory Of A Dead Man

**How many of you are from California? Are any of you hockey fans? My dad's sister and her family lives in Stockton and they're all HUGE hockey fans so although I'm born on raised on Oahu, I'm a HUGE hockey fan as well and I love the Sharks all the way. I've got their jerseys and autographs from when I was younger because my uncle used to be good friends with the coach back then(: so if any of you are fans then you're in for a manini treat –nothing big(:**

**Warning: this chapter may cause tears, may get emotional, and may make you fall in love with Draco even more than you already are! Also it has a minor M-rated scene inside of it. Maybe not minor – depends how you look at it. I like to write smut, and to me this is minor. But I'm giving you guys a heads up – this chapter does have "smut" inside of it(:**

In The Memory Of A Dead Man

Draco was tossing and turning. Something was wrong, something was pulling him, dragging him away somewhere where no one would be able to hear him scream. Of course though – he was a Malfoy, and Malfoys do not scream, but that was beside the point. Whoever had a hold of him didn't know that he doesn't scream, so they were hell bent on ensuring that if he did scream he wouldn't be heard. Either way, it didn't bode well for Draco Malfoy. There was a chill in the air, an iciness that coursed through his bloodstream, and he could feel the icicles forming on his veins and freezing his bones to nothing. The smoothness of his silk sheets were still wrapped around him, and he felt that he was tucked away on his bed in the fifth year boys' dorm of the Slytherin dungeons, but he could also feel himself being pulled at. Something was very wrong indeed.

He could feel himself falling into a deep sleep that he didn't want, and the fogginess of a blurred vision was beginning to take form. This wasn't right – it wasn't a natural sleep nor was this a natural forming dream. Someone was taking him out of Hogwarts and thrusting him into some unknown dream world. Only dark magic could be capable of such a thing. The chilling feeling took over him and soon he stopped thrashing. Death was in his room and it was about to claim him.

_Sitting on the couch, he stared into his bare hands. Some stupid muggle cartoon was playing in the background on the telly, and the talking sponge's voice normally irked him, but thankfully his own pounding thoughts were louder for once. How Tonya could love that show, he would never understand. He lifted his hand to the side table next to him and picked up the bright red colored phone off the receiver. Once it was in his hand though he slammed it back down. He picked it up again a couple of seconds later only to hang it up once more. It took a couple of tries and a lot of talking to himself, but soon enough he managed to dial a number… before hanging back up again._

_ Pick up the phone… 0… hang up._

_ Pick up the phone… 02… hang up._

_ Take in a deep breath and sigh. Pick up phone… 020… hang up._

_ Pick up phone… 020-129… sigh and hang up._

_ He's dialed this number so many times before, but now he just couldn't seem to do it. He ruffled his hands through his hair. Pick up phone… 020… hang up._

_ "Get a bloody grip, Draco!" he scolded himself. Pick up phone… 020-1… hang up._

_ He took in a deep breath and picked it up once more… 020-1294-3381… it rang once, twice… he hung up._

_ He was a bloody coward. Deciding that he was okay with being a bloody coward and that he would drown his sorrows in a tank of mead, he stood up. A shrilling bell sound came from the phone and he sighed. Mustering up whatever Black courage that his mum's late relatives seemed to have, he sat back down and picked it up. "Hullo."_

_ "Draco," Ginny's concerned voice came through the phone. "Why on earth did you call and hang up on my ear?"_

_ "Sorry Gin," he sighed. "I didn't hear you pick up."_

_ "Is everything all right? You sound a little distraught?" _

_ "I need your help."_

_ "With what?"_

_ "Tonya's out of town this weekend. She went to that muggle retreat thing with Blaise and Luna."_

_ "I know," she sighed, "Hermione and I was supposed to go as well, but Hermione got too caught up in work and I decided to play the good sister-in-law role and not leave her behind. So what is it you need help with – you don't need me to wash your knickers for you do you?" Draco could hear the frown in her lips and the disgust in her voice, "Because I already told Seamus that he could just wait two more days until Blaise came home."_

_ Laughing, Draco shook his head. "Merlin, no! I can wash my own knickers – it's good to know that you think of what's under my trousers though."_

_ "Oh yes!" Ginny teased him. "My life will not be complete until I know what type of knickers Draco Malfoy is wearing."_

_ "None," dropping his laughter so that his voice would be seductively serious, Draco held in his snickers when the other side remained silent. "Unless it's fancy occasions; that's when Tonya forces me into green silk briefs – she says that she likes the way it lines my-"_

_ "I get it!" Ginny suddenly shouted, sounding as if she were about to sick. "Please stop giving me visuals; I would like my breakfast to stay in my tummy, please."_

_ "Very well then," he chuckled. "So about why I'm calling you…"_

"We were happy then."

Draco turned around and found himself face to face with the same person who's been haunting his sleep for the past few weeks. There was light stubble on his face with hair only a couple of inches longer than his own pale strands. Reflected eyes stared back at him while blood stained his body. He was wearing only dark green colored boxers and Draco could see that his chest was badly scarred as if he had been cut in various places. "What happened?"

The twenty year old version of Draco Malfoy sighed and stood next to himself. "We were killed."

"Why?"

"We change."

"How old are you?" Draco felt ridiculous talking to himself like this, but he had all sorts of questions and it seemed like this weird, older but still younger, bloodied version of him would be the only one to answer them. "Us, I mean? How old are we?"

"Twenty."

"We were-" Draco's eyes widened. He scanned the body once more and looked down at his own pajama cladded body and saw that he couldn't have grown up that much in only five years. His eyes landed on something else though – something on his older version, something that he himself didn't have yet. It all made sense now – why he would be killed at twenty. "We get the mark," the older version blushed. "Is it Potter who kills us?"

The older version began to laugh. It was a laugh that Draco never knew he could produce, a laugh that he had only heard in his dreams. "No," he shook his head. "Harry would never kill us. He's trying to avenge our murder right now."

"Harry?" Draco cocks an eyebrow, "We call him Harry?"

"Things have changed," the older version nodded his head. "The war has ended and the light side has won. We helped them to win."

Draco's eyes fluttered back to the scene that was enfolding in front of where he saw a nervous version of himself rushing to get dressed then back to the bloodied and obviously dead version of himself. "Is that why we're killed then? Because we switched sides?"

"Did we?" the older version asked.

"But you said that we helped the light side to win?"

"We did," he nodded his head. "We even killed Nott just before he could kill Ginny."

Draco gasped. "Nott?"

"That's why Tonya warned you against him," he nodded his head again. "But tell me Draco, have we ever really been on the other side? I mean sure, we have the mark and we attend all the meetings, but have we ever really agreed with what they said? Have we ever really been one of them? So did we really switch sides?"

Draco thought about it then shook his head. "I guess not," he turned to look back at the scene, "Why are you here?"

"To show you how happy you become," the older version said grimly, "And to give you a glimpse of a better future that may not exist anymore."

_Ginny was pacing back and forth and back and forth in the snow. She was dressed in long black jeans that were tucked into black colored furry boots with a deep red colored muggle coat that accentuated her hair. A black colored beanie, with a tan colored furry ball in the center of it, sat on her hair while she held the red colored mittens to her face. The Gryffindor colored scarf caught his eyes. Her wand was hidden inside of the long strapped black colored purse over her right shoulder and she was definitely nervous about something._

"Why is the Weaslette here?" Draco asked his older self.

"Remember the phone call that you just made?" Draco nodded his head, "This is what it was about. Just keep watching – here we come."

_Dressed in faded blue jeans and a marshmallow looking white snow jacket with his own Slytherin colored scarf around his neck and his own silver colored beanie, Draco ran across the town square and came to an abrupt stop in front of the equally nervous Ginny. She took one look at his messy hairdo and sighed with a roll of her eyes._

_ "Oh, honestly Draco," she told him. "Couldn't you have at least brushed your hair?"_

_ "Now is not the time to worry about how I look, Gin," he all but shouted at her. "I'm freaking out here."_

_ "Are you sure this is what you want to do then? I mean you guys are only eighteen, you both have time to do this later."_

Draco heard the older version of himself scoff at the words spoken in front of them, and Draco suddenly felt sick. He was only eighteen years old in this future memory of his and he was only twenty when he was murdered. The Weaslette had no idea how wrong she was. He grew curious though – the older him knew about Tonya and he even mentioned her. Who was the girl that the Weaslette was talking about right now and why on earth was he so nervous about calling her only to end up meeting with her?

"The only way to get your answers is by watching," the older version told him. "Pay attention, Draco. If everything goes according to Harry them's new plan then this may very well happen again one day. And I don't want you fucking it up."

Draco only nodded his head and continued to watch the scene. The two were now walking down a busy street.

_"Thanks for agreeing to help me with this. Does Harry know you're here?"_

_ "No," Ginny shook her head. "I figured that you wouldn't want anyone knowing about this before Tonya."_

_ "Harry wouldn't tell her though, right?"_

_ "Of course not, but he would tell Ron and then Ron would tell Hermione and as much as I love Hermione and trust her with secrets, this is something too big for her to not spill. She would probably tell someone like Mum or Fleur or even Blaise and-"_

_ "No!" Draco's eyes suddenly widened. "Blaise can never know about this."_

_ "I'm sure he's going to find out eventually," Ginny giggled, "Once you get down on one knee and Tonya accepts it after all."_

_ Draco rolled his eyes and the corners of his lips raised in amusement, "That is not what I meant and you know it. Blaise has a bigger mouth than Lavender did-"_

"Why did we both shudder?" Draco asked. "Right there, when I mentioned Brown – we both shuddered. Why?"

The older version sadly shook his head, "She was one of the many lives lost in the war."

"Oh," Draco didn't know how to react to that. He didn't exactly like Lavender Brown, but he didn't want to hear about her death. Now that he thought about it, he didn't expect to hear that she even fought in the war. He didn't think she had the guts. Maybe the hat was right when he placed the gossipy girl into the house meant for only the brave –she died a brave death in the end after all, didn't she?

_"-but when it comes to Tonya, it's like he transforms into a little giddy school girl. Even Seamus becomes worried when the two of them are all alone."_

_ "That's because Seamus is too paranoid like you," Ginny rolled her eyes and playfully bumped him with her shoulder. "You always think that the two of them are gossiping about hot blokes or something like that."_

_ Fear and jealousy flashed through Draco's eyes, "Are they?"_

_ "Honestly, Draco. You've known Blaise all your life and you think he would think of another bloke when he's got Seamus?"_

_ "Well what about Tonya?"_

_ "I don't know why, but for some reason she only has eyes for you," expecting to hear Draco say something snarky about his money or good looks, Ginny paused when she heard him stop moving without saying anything – turning around, she saw him frozen in place. "Draco?" she questioned. "What's wrong?"_

_ "You're right," he said suddenly. And for the first time since meeting him, Ginny saw him being vulnerable. He wasn't even this vulnerable when Voldemort called to him during the battle. _

_ "About what?"_

_ "Why would she only have eyes for me?"_

_ Ginny groaned and began to stomp her feet in the snow while walking towards him. "Come off it, Draco. I was only joking; we all know that she loves you very much. She's head over heels for you."_

_ "Yes," he nodded his head. "But why?"_

_ "Because, love," she smiled gently, wrapping a hand around his. "She found you at your weakest. You were bloody and broken from the war and she stumbled upon you. She listened to your war tales and saw you break more than once, but while you were breaking she saw something else."_

_ "What?" he asked her. There was pain in his voice with sadness in his eyes. "Tell me what she saw, Ginny. Why does Tonya love me?"_

_ Smiling, Ginny gave his hand a light squeeze, "She saw you fighting to become stronger. She saw the real Draco Malfoy – the one that doesn't have to hide his fear anymore by picking on the world. She saw a man fresh out of battle with no family and no friends. She saw someone covered in blood and bruises with broken bones stand back up as if nothing happened, with a genuine smile on his face. She saw something in you that you still can't see yourself."_

"We changed," Draco said out loud. It wasn't a question nor was it a statement. It was just words spoken from his mouth.

"We changed," the older version repeated.

_Draco allowed Ginny's words to sink in and he hugged her in gratitude. He didn't say anything, he only hugged her. It was enough for her though to understand his meaning behind it. Draco was always doing that these days – questioning why someone as pure as Tonya would ever fall in love with him when she could do so much better. He always told her his thoughts and she would only laugh at him and say that if she wanted better, she would die an old spinster. Apparently in her mind, there was no one better than the ex-Death Eater, Draco Malfoy._

_ "This is too fancy," Draco groaned. "Ginny, this is pointless. This is the twenty-second muggle wedding ring shop that we've been in. Tonya won't like any of these rings."_

_ Staring at the large pink diamond ring, that looked as if someone just glued pink cotton candy over a boulder, in disgust, Ginny nodded her head then looked back up at Draco. "We can't give up now. You said that you wanted to buy her a muggle ring."_

_ "Yes, but one that she'll actually like and be proud of to wear it around in public." _

_ "Then we'll just have to keep looking."_

_ They went to another shop and another and another and another. Draco was beginning to give up hope already. Ginny shouted with excitement once and he finally got his hopes up that they had found the right one, but as soon as his hope returned it left again. Ginny's excited squeal quickly turned into disgust when the ring that she had been admiring started to walk away. Draco had to literally carry Ginny out of that shop when the poor man behind the counter began to cry as she threatened him._

_ "We've been shopping all day," he sighed as they left yet another shop. "Thanks for coming Gin, but this isn't working, maybe another day."_

_ "Don't you be giving up just yet, Draco Lucius Malfoy!"_

Both Dracos, who were watching the scene, winced as they heard the redhead shout out their full name then grab the miserable looking Draco marshmallow by his arm and drag him across the street to another shop. "She calls us by our full name?"

"She's our best friend."

_ "Just look around," Ginny pleaded with him. "If we don't find one then we'll leave and come back tomorrow."_

_ "We've been to thirty-six shops already," Draco groaned. "Why don't we just give up? Maybe Tonya and I just aren't meant to get married."_

_ Ginny's hand reacted before she even realized what was happening. The loud thwacking sound seemed to remind her though as Draco's cheek turned a bright red shade as her handprint marked him. "I don't even regret that," she told him with a smirk as he muttered all sorts of horrid names beneath his breath about her. "I don't ever want to hear you say something like that again. You and Tonya are meant to be together more than I'm meant to be with Harry."_

_ "Poor Harry," Draco muttered, "First his parents are killed, then he gets sent to live with abusive relatives, he finds out a madman wants to kill him, he's tortured, he loses his Headmaster then godfather, he loses his owl and most of his friends and mentors, now he's dating an abusive ginger. I almost want to not be meant for Tonya now."_

_ Ginny reached for her purse and watched as Draco backed up. "What was that?"_

_ Staring in the purse, knowing that Ginny's wand was in there, Draco quickly said, "I'm looking," before leaving the smug witch on her own._

"I always knew there was something frightening about her."

_ "Excuse me," Draco approached the clerk, "I'm looking for a ring for my girlfriend. She doesn't like anything too big or fancy."_

_ "We have a small assortment of smaller rings," the chubby woman smiled at him. Her eyes were twinkling in a way that resembled Dumbledore's baby blue orbs. "Follow me, dear. Does your girlfriend have a particular color that she fancies?"_

_ Draco nodded his head, "Yellow."_

_ "We have one," she told him, "It just came in an hour ago. It's more of a promise ring than an engagement ring though."_

_ Ginny approached them with an annoyed frown, "I don't see anything, Draco."_

_ "Hold on," he told her. "This woman said that a tiny yellow ring just came an hour ago."_

_ "I think you might like it, dear," the kind woman smiled at Ginny._

_ Draco and Ginny exchanged a glance then both began to laugh. The woman watched them in amusement while the two teens cleaned away their tears. "Oh Merlin, no," they both gasped out at the same time. "We're best friends," they spoke in unison again._

_ "I pity his girlfriend actually," Ginny continued to laugh. "She's stuck with a ferret for life."_

_ "And her poor boyfriend is stuck with a weasel for a mate."_

_ The woman continued to smile as the two friends continued to laugh at how oddly true their words were. Of course the woman would never understand their very true joke, but she appreciated it as an inside thing and almost didn't want to interrupt them. "Excuse me, dears," she cleared her throat. "Do you think that the young lady would like this?"_

_ Ginny stopped laughing and Draco felt a jolt in his heart. It was meant to be. He was meant to marry Tonya – if she said yes of course – because of this very simple ring. This promise ring that he would present her with was everything that his love could hold into a promise. It was so simple yet so complex. This very tiny promise ring would hold true to its name – any engagement ring didn't meant that it would last forever; an engagement could end at any second… even years after a marriage. But a promise – well that would mean that he promises to love her every second that he breathes and even beyond that into an afterlife. This promise ring was more beautiful than any large diamond encrusted with rubies could ever be. This simple tiny yellow diamond that sat in the center of a plain white golden rose band was more complex and more beautiful than any other wedding ring could ever be. Not only was this ring made for his Tonya, but it held an everlasting promise of love that nothing could break. After all, it is a promise ring._

"Now where are we?" Draco asked his older version when they were tugged away from the wedding ring shop and standing in the center of a flat. This was a different apartment than the one from all of his dreams. "I want to see the ring again. That wasn't the ring that I saw on her finger."

"We told Mother and Father about the plan to propose to Tonya. Mother instantly called up Molly and the two of them began to plan everything. Father had the same opinion as Ginny – he tried telling us that we were still young, but when we insisted that we were going to propose, he took us to the family vault."

"The ring," Draco gasped. "The one that I saw on her hand. She was wearing the Malfoy ring, but it was-"

"Intertwined with the very ring that we just saw," the older version nodded his head, "Father blessed both rings as well. He showed you the family ring, but you pulled out the promise ring that you brought. It was your idea, really, to bind the two rings together promising the combined future of the first muggle to ever marry into the Malfoy bloodline and mixing together muggle blood with pure blood. During the wedding ceremony the Minister of Magic combined the two rings together, creating a bond so strong and so pure and filled with so much love and promise. It was indeed the wedding of the century."

"And Father?" he questioned. "He was okay with it? He just blessed the rings –just like that?"

The future version remained silent for a couple of seconds then with a snap of his fingers, they found themselves sitting inside of the manor. "You have a lot to see tonight, Draco, and I have many things to tell you before you wake up, but not much time to do it in."

_ "DAD!" Tonya was running through the manor now. A long white colored skirt was flowing behind her while the v-shaped tight white halter top did nothing to conceal the bounciness of her breasts. Her heels were making clacking sounds across the marbled floor as she continued to run. "DAD!"_

_ "What is with all this shouting?" Lucius emerged from his study. Dressed in his black robes, his hair was neatly tied back into a long ponytail. "Tonya, why on earth are you running in here?"_

_ "TONYA ANNE MALFOY!" _

_ Cocking an eyebrow as the girl now tried to hide behind him with wide eyes, Lucius stepped away from her, "What did you do?" he asked with an accusing tone and a sigh. The accusing tone wasn't annoyed or taunting; it was more teasing-like, and insinuating that he knew she was usually guilty in times like this._

_ "Nothing," she pouted. "It's your prick of a son."_

_ "Prick – of – a – son?" Lucius mouthed then sighed. "What did he do this time?"_

_ "Don't you hide behind my father, Tonya," a scarlet faced Draco shouted once he approached them. Lucius took one look at the sharpie drawn mustache on his son's face as well as the _'Property of Tonya'_ that was written on his forehead. "Father, look what that horrid woman did to my face."_

_ Lucius could tell that Tonya was trying to hold in her laughter. He himself was having a hard time controlling his chuckles. "What did you do to her, Draco?"_

_ "Me?" he accused. Pointing his finger at Tonya, Draco shook his head. "I was sleeping. I woke up because I could hear giggling. And I knew something was wrong once she bolted out of the room. I passed the mirror on my way out to find her, and this is what I see. Look – at – my – face!"_

_ "It's pretty hard not to, Son," looking down at Tonya who was red in the face from holding in her laughter, Lucius said, "What happened my darling?"_

"My darling?"

"He loves her," the older version nodded his head, smiling as he continued to watch this memory. "Father and Tonya have a true father-daughter bond and it helps us to become closer to him."

Draco felt as if he were about to start choking, but he only gagged a little instead. "F-Father has a bond with her? I mean I know that he has his muggle cabin, but to actually form a fatherly bond with a muggle?"

"He loves that Tonya brings out the real us," the older version told him. "And he accepts her because she accepts our family. She knows what we've done and she doesn't judge any of us."

"She accepts that we've killed in the war?"

"We killed," the older version nodded his head, "But not the people that you think; we killed the Death Eaters. We saved Ginny. Mother saved Harry and even Father saved McGonagall. It took Mother and Father a while, but in the end we showed our true alliance and Tonya accepts that. She doesn't care how many people we've killed in the past as long as we don't kill anyone now."

"And we don't?" Draco questioned his older version. "I mean we don't kill anyone now?"

The older version chuckled. "Only when we're at work," there was confusion in young Draco's face so he continued. "We're an Auror now, Draco. We have to kill witches and wizards that try to escape or endanger someone as we're trying to arrest them. No more questions for now… just watch."

_ "Look what he did to my kitty, Dad," Tonya whined._

_ Lucius began to choke out the word, "K-Kitty?"_

_ "Her horrid tattoo," Draco rolled his eyes, already knowing what his father's perverse mind was thinking of. "And she's only calling you _Dad_ because she's trying to butter you up to take her side."_

_ Scowling at Draco, Tonya pulled her skirt down a bit, and lifted up the bottom of her tight shirt. "Look at this, Dad," she whined again._

_ Leaning forward so that he could get a better glimpse at the adorable little cat that muggles seemed to idolize all over the world, Lucius frowned. "What's wrong with it? It didn't look like that when I first saw it."_

_ "No," Tonya shook her head, "It didn't."_

_ "Draco, what did you do to her kitty?"_

Both Dracos began to snicker at the way their father questioned it and at how odd it was to hear the notorious Lucius Malfoy say the word 'kitty'.

_ "Nothing," Draco immediately lowered his gaze._

_ "Draco…"_

_ "Oh fine," he gave up. "But it's only because _she_-" he pointed at Tonya, who was trying to hide her own snickering, "-forced me to sleep with that horrendous doll of hers. I'm sick of that bloody smiling cat taking over my bedroom. If I want to cuddle with my wife then dammit I should be able to cuddle with my wife, not some hideous cat like doll. I mean who's ever heard of cats wearing dresses and bows? It's unnatural!"_

_ Lucius looked back at the cat tattoo. It was once a tiny little cat wearing a yellow colored bow in her left ear and a white and yellow polka-dotted shirt underneath a light blue jumper thing. But now all the yellow had turned to a moss green color and instead of her cute bow she had devil horns and a bright red devil tail sticking out from her backside. "Is that – is that thing winking at me?"_

_ "He turned her into a little green devil harlot," Tonya complained to her father-in-law. "And look at this," when she shook her hips, the tiny little tattoo moved with her while undoing her jumper and pulling it down. "My kitty's a floozy."_

_ Draco snickered, thinking that his prank was genius, but his father seemed to think otherwise. "You will remove whatever spell you placed on Tonya's tattoo this instant, Draco."_

_ "After she removes what she did to my face," he said sternly._

_ Grumbling something about insufferable sons, Lucius pointed his wand at his daughter-in-law's tummy then muttered a spell. "There, all good as new."_

_ "Thanks, Dad," Tonya beamed, fixing her clothing then hugging Lucius._

_ "What about my face?" Draco shouted, annoyed that his father would side with his wife._

_ "Such a shame," Lucius drawled. "But it's your own fault. You should know better than to mess with Tonya. You started it by hexing her tattoo."_

_ "She was the one who slept with that bloody doll."_

_ "Yes," Tonya nodded her head. Her arms were folded across her chest and she had an icy glare in her eyes. "And I will be for the rest of this week. You will be sleeping on the couch for the rest of the week that we are staying with your parents."_

_ "I will not," Drco shook his head. "This is my parent's manor. You cannot kick me out of the room. Which by the way, is the bedroom that _I _grew up in all of my life."_

_ "Well I'm certainly not sleeping on the couch," Tonya stood her ground and dared her to challenge him. "I'll have one of the house-elves remove your things and bring them to drawing room within an hour."_

_ "No," Draco shook his head again, "Absolutely not," he saw that she wasn't going to cave in and he turned to his father for help, but Lucius was only smirking from behind Tonya. "I'm sleeping in one of the guest rooms."_

_ This time it was Tonya who shook her head. "No, you will not! I said the couch, Draco. And I mean the couch. If I find out that you slept in one of the guest rooms then you'll be finding yourself sleeping on Blaise and Seamus's couch. And you know I'm serious."_

_ "Father-" Draco resorted to whining._

_ Lucius shook his head. "You started it, Draco. And I'd do your best to not annoy your wife for the rest of your stay. Your mother is already looking for a perfect excuse to make you scrub the sixth floor… the muggle way."_

_ Draco's eyes widened as he saw the excitement light up in his wife's eyes. "Perfect," Tonya chortled. "Come Lucius; let's tell Narcissa that Draco's being mean to me."_

_ "Bloody hell," Draco groaned, already following them up the stairs. He knew that it was a useless cause._

"After three nights of sleeping alone in the room, Tonya began to feel lonely and snuck down to the couch to sleep in our arms," the older version chuckled while running his hands through his hair as the memory began to blur. "It never lasts a full week. She did, however, make us finish scrubbing the sixth floor but she finally gave in and helped us out."

"What's that cat thing that we hate so much?"

"Hello Kitty," the older version sighed. "A horrible, horrible creation made by the Japanese people to torture all males of the earth. The only good thing out of it is that Tonya got Hermione and Ginny hooked on her as well as Fleur so Harry, Ron, and Bill have to suffer as much as we do."

"Fleur?" Draco cocked an eyebrow. "Fleur Delacour?"

The older version nodded his head. "She married Bill Weasley," his eyes stayed on the now forming memory and he began to laugh. "Quiet now. This was a hilarious day."

_ Draco was alone in the kitchen. He could hear Tonya talking to some other people inside the living room. There was a pot filled with boiling water in front of him on the stove, but there was nothing in it. He began to frantically search the cabinets, looking for anything that he would be able to throw into the water and mix together. Tonya was laughing about something now and he nervously glanced around to make sure that no one was coming. He jumped up a little when he saw Seamus staring at him from against the wall._

_ "You 'ave no idea what you're doing, do you?" the Irish voice questioned him._

_ Sighing, Draco shook his head. "I don't know why I agreed to cook tonight."_

_ "Because you're a good fiancé," Seamus chuckled. Pushing off of the wall, Seamus started walking towards him. "What do you 'ave in the pot so far?"_

_ "Water."_

_ Peeking inside, Seamus scrunched up his nose. "Water? Just water? Are you going to throw a tea bag in there?"_

_ "I don't know," Draco shrugged his shoulders. "Why? What does that make?"_

_ "It makes tea," Seamus chuckled. "'Ow do you not know that?"_

_ "I'm a pureblood," Draco shrugged his shoulders again. "I was raised up by house-elves."_

_ "Even Blaise knows 'ow to make a cuppa."_

_ "Yeah well Blaise is just different. Are you going to help me or just criticize me? Because in case you haven't noticed – your fiancé is waiting to eat too."_

_ "Very well then," Seamus said. Taking a step back, his eyes raked Draco's body. The short blonde hair was just long enough to make an awkward ponytail that kept the hair off his shoulders, but still allowed a few strands to touch his eyes. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt underneath a yellow colored apron that read _'Kiss the Cook' _and black slacks. Seamus chuckled. "I want an apron."_

_ Rolling his eyes, Draco walked over to the tiny little cabinet that was supposed to represent a pantry and he pulled a pink colored apron off of a nail. "Here."_

_ "Why's it pink?"_

_ Watching as Seamus eyed the apron, Draco sighed. "It's Tonya's old roommate's one. She apparently loved the color."_

_ Tying it around himself, Seamus looked down and started to laugh. "Look at them lips."_

_ "We can tease you later," Draco said, scavenging through the cabinets once more. "But for now we need to cook something edible. Have you ever cooked before?"_

_ "No!"_

_ "Do you have any idea on what to do?"_

_ "No!"_

_ "Do you know what we can mix in with the water?"_

_ "No!"_

_ Groaning, Draco looked as helpless as he thought Seamus was being at the moment. "I'll call Ginny."_

_ "Unless you plan on walking out there and explaining to Blaise and Tonya why you need the phone, we need a new plan."_

_ Seamus and Draco both shared a nervous look with each other then they both ran in separate directions, trying to find anything to mix into the pot of boiling water. Seamus appeared with garlic salt and began to pour about half of it in while Draco dumped in some white powder looking thing that he often saw Tonya mixing into her pots of stew or curry. Seamus grated in some black pepper and Draco found these little brown beef cubes. He dumped in about seven of them then watched as the water began to darken and boil even more._

_ "This is really good, babe," Tonya said, spooning the soup into her mouth while watching as Blaise did the same._

_ Seamus and Draco both shared a quick glance and grinned at each other as Blaise asked, "Where did you guys learn to make this?"_

_ "It's a secret recipe," they both said at the same time, causing their fiancées to share a nervous look with one another, "Don't worry about it."_

_ "I didn't know you could cook, love," Blaise told his boyfriend. "Why don't you ever cook at home?"_

_ Seamus began to worry. When he and Draco threw together this disastrous soup they hadn't expected it to actually come out good. Would Blaise expect him to start cooking more meals at home? "I don't," he immediately replied, feeling that it would be the safest reply. "I only know 'ow to make this. So unless you expect to eat this every night for the rest of your life, don't count on me, love."_

_ Tonya watched Draco as Blaise examined Seamus. There was definitely something going on with the two of them. They were both nervous about something and whatever it was it involved the soup they were all eating. "What did you two do?" Tonya questioned them._

_ "Nothing," they both squeaked out._

_ "You have your guilty look," Blaise told his boyfriend then glanced at his best mate, "And so do you. What are you hiding?"_

_ Seamus and Draco both looked at each other once more. Seamus shook his head, but Draco saw the way that Tonya was staring at him so he nodded his. Tonya and Blaise both watched in amusement as their fiancées had a silent argument with each other about something that the two of them just couldn't understand. Draco nodded his head once more while Seamus stood his ground and shook his. There was something in both of their eyes that had the two of them both coming to an agreement. "We burnt the cake," they both announced at the same time._

"It was our first time cooking for them," the older version told his confused younger self. "We both agreed to never mention anything about how we made the soup because we knew they would kill us over it, but we tried making a cake as well. Needless to say… there was no chance in ever salvaging that.

Draco continued to just watch as random moments from future memories began to swirl all around him. "I always promised myself that the day I cook for someone is the day that I no longer control my own mind."

"We don't," the older version chuckled. "That's the one thing that we learn when we become engaged. All of our thoughts, all of our actions, everything that we think and we do… well, it all belongs to Tonya."

"And how do we feel about that?" Draco was nervous. From the moment that he first met the confusing American girl, he knew that there was something about her that would be dangerous to him, and now that he was finding out he no longer controlled his own mind, he was worried.

"We couldn't dream up anything that would be better than that," his future-self told him.

Draco opened his mouth to ask if it was worth it, but he saw the pain in his older version's eyes and it worried him. He never imagined that it would be possible for him to feel _that _type of pain about something. Turning back to the swirling images he found himself staring at his older version and Tonya. They looked as if they were only eighteen or nineteen. They both looked happy. He was confused – why would he be in pain if this was a happy memory?

"Because if Tonya's plan goes through then none of these memories will exist anymore," the older version answered young Draco's unspoken question. "The happiest moments of our life will never happen and we'll never know happiness."

_ Tonya's hair was still damp from her shower and her skin smelt like honey stolen straight from a honeycomb. Neon purple painted toes wiggled in Draco's lap and he could see a glimpse of her white laced knickers that weren't doing its job in concealing anything from his view. The long pale fingers were situated right on the feet in his lap while his own feet were set on the floor. His own blonde strands were damp while little droplets of manly scented water dripped onto his bare chest. _

_ "What on earth are we watching, love?"_

_ Looking away from the telly that was now showing some sort of muggle sport being played with sticks on ice, Tonya grinned when she saw the boredom on his face. "It's called hockey, babe."_

_ "Why are we watching this?" _

_ "Because I want to see if the Sharks make it to Nationals," she told him._

"Hockey?" questioned a confused Draco.

"An American muggle sport," answered the older version. "Tonya's obsessed with the Sharks. The San Jose Sharks are a team from California – her home town. I assume you've noticed that she's both American and a muggle by now?"

"Yes," Draco nodded his head. "What's the point of the game?"

"Get the little flat pancake disk thing into the opposing team's net. It's somewhat like Quidditch, but on ice. With sticks. And a pancake disk," looking over at his younger self, he wistfully smiled. "We don't like hockey. Now stop questioning me and pay close attention. We have one memory after this one before I explain everything to you. And this memory is just for _my _own personal pleasure."

Draco nodded his head and turned back to the memory, curious as to where this was going as he watched his older self, rub his hand up Tonya's legs. He began to shift uncomfortably now. He wasn't a virgin – Pansy helped take care of that two months after they returned to Hogwarts this year – but it was still odd watching this while standing next to an older version of himself that actually remembered this. It was confusing and awkward. But he just couldn't look away.

_ Tonya turned back to the telly and tried to pay attention to her home team hitting the puck. Her breath hitched when she felt the gentle tickling of familiar fingertips dancing along her calves. It started at her calves, worked its way up to her thigh then back down to her calves. He moved his fingers in little circular motions, scowling at the way she tugged down on her t-shirt. It was one of his stay at home sleeping shirts; just a plain white t-shirt that reached her thighs. When she laid like that it lifted up all the time, but now she was trying to block herself from him._

_ Draco released a low growl, not appreciating the fact that she was trying to hide herself from him. He moved his fingers more forcefully up her legs, not stopping at her thighs this time. "Draco," Tonya gasped out when she felt his fingers tease her pierced navel._

_ "What?" he asked, innocently._

_ Cocking an eyebrow, Tonya chose to ignore him and continue watching the game. She held in her breath as she felt him gently tug on the dangling smiley face poking out from her navel and bit her lower lip as she felt him reach her breasts. "Draco!" she couldn't hold back anymore as he caught her off guard by twisting one of her now erect nipples in his fingers._

_ Draco grinned as he turned back to the telly. He wasn't paying any attention to the bulky guys in skates slamming each other into the glass wall, but he was instead listening to the light panting coming from his girlfriend. He could feel her shifting around the couch and he heard the bristling of a shirt. Chancing a quick glance away from the telly, his own breath got caught in his throat as he saw her bare breasts. Her nipples were both now standing at full attention from the sudden chilly feeling in the air as well his fingers' administrations. The shirt was lost on the floor behind the couch. Tonya's eyes were half shut and her mouth was hanging slightly open. He pulled his hand away and she whimpered in response._

_ "Now, now, love," Draco chuckled when she glared at him. "What about the game?"_

_ Rubbing her foot against the bulge in Draco's lap, Tonya applied pressure and smirked when he groaned in response. "I like this game better."_

_ Turning all his attention on her, Draco trailed his fingers back up her thigh, but this time they immediately went to that sensitive nerve of bundles that had Tonya arching her back. He tickled her now pulsing clit, feeling the unwelcome lace from her knickers. She was starting to soak now and he felt his own arousal starting to hurt. "You would," he whispered in a low and seductive tone as the heel of her foot began to roughly massage him now. "Oh, Merlin."_

_ "Hmm," Tonya hummed out, loving the reaction that he was having because of her at the moment. "Oh fuck!" Draco slipped a finger inside of her just at that very moment, dragging the lace inside with him. Tonya's foot slipped away from him and her hands slapped down on the couch. She wasn't expecting him to take it that far just yet. He normally liked to tease her for a while first._

_ Leaving his finger in place, Draco maneuvered himself so that he was now lying atop of Tonya with their bare chests heaving into one another while he added in another finger and hooked them with a little twist. Tonya moaned from beneath him and he pressed his lips to her ear, "But I'm tired of games."_

_ Tonya called out his name as his tongue began to work its way over her throat and onto her nipples. He would passionately kiss one while his free hand worked the other, then seconds later he would switch. Tonya moved her hands to his sweats and pulled them down, angling her legs so that she could kick it completely off with her feet, but the new angle that she was in only made her more eager for him to hit that right spot; the spot inside of her that Draco was purposely avoiding. Tonya's hands found the erect cock and Draco bit down on her, hard, as she tightly grasped it. His fingers pumped more frantically, but he still avoided where she wanted it._

_ "Draco," Tonya whimpered, "Please, babe! Please!"_

_ It was a promise that Draco made himself when he first met her, and now he hated himself for making it. He promised himself that he would never hear this woman beneath him beg for anything. Removing his fingers much to her distress he ripped her knickers off in one quick motion, not caring where they fell to and he pushed inside of her._

_ "DRACO!" she cried out, her back arching while her toes curled up._

_ "Oh fuck," Draco paused his movements. With just his first push, he already knew her body so well that he hit the right spot with just one try. He tried his best to remain still while he felt her walls tighten around him as she convulsed beneath him. He heard her whimpering his name through her orgasm and he began to pump into her again. "Tonya," he called out her name, thrusting into her as she continued to leak for him._

"Bloody hell!" Draco whispered as the scene began to fade out.

The older version smirked, "She wouldn't speak to us for two days after that because her bloody team lost that day and she blamed me."

"What?" Draco was confused. "But that was… that was hot! How could she not talk to us after that? We… we were bloody good! We were better than when with Pansy!"

"That wasn't our first time with Tonya," the older version reminded him, "Nor was it our last time either. We've done her better than that. And she's Tonya – it doesn't matter how good it is, she'll always use sex against us if she has to. But it never truly lasts. The sex is great, but it's the moments when she just lays in our arms as we watch her sleeping that we'll always love."

"So we make her toes curl and she still doesn't talk to us?"

The older version nodded his head, "And we love her throughout every second of it."

"What is this?" Draco asked as he watched the final memory beginning to take place. "What are we going to watch now?"

"You'll see."

_ "Draco, mate," Harry said, stepping into the kitchen. Loud muggle music was playing through a large house shaped speaker system while laughter and chattering overtook it. Why the iPod was on, he didn't understand; not if they were only going to talk around it. When grey eyes met emerald, Harry pointed his chin towards the front door of the apartment. _

_ Nodding his head to show he understood, Draco released his hold on Tonya's waist, and kissed her cheek from behind. "I'll be right back."_

_ "Where are you-" noticing Harry for the first time, Tonya grinned, "Hey Harry, you're late you know. Ginny's in the bathroom right now."_

_ Chuckling, he nodded his head, "Sorry Tonya, I got held up at the office."_

_ Rolling his eyes, Draco's only friend from his past that he trusted; Blaise Zabini, pointed a finger at Harry. "Don't be bringing any of that work nonsense here, Harry. Today's all about leaving that bullshit behind."_

_ "Blaise Zabini," gasped Seamus Finnigan. _

_ Quickly turning around, the olive toned Italian blushed. "Love," he quickly stated, "I didn't see you there. I thought you were out on the patio with Ron?"_

_ The short, tanned Irish man turned shamrock colored eyes on jaded eyes. "So you swear while I'm not around then, do you?"_

_ Shaking his head at his best friend of twenty years, Draco made it clear that he wasn't about to get involved in one of their arguments. Draco made an appearance back into the wizarding world just a week after running into Ginny and the golden trio. He had helped them on their case, and brought in the Death Eater they were searching for. After reconciling with his parents and being shocked that they were both extremely quick to accept Tonya; Draco found a job at the Ministry alongside Harry and Ron. He ran into his best mate as well, Blaise Zabini._

_ Blaise Zabini was the only person that Draco had ever trusted throughout his life. They understood each other in ways that no one else ever could. Draco trusted him with the task Voldemort gave him, and Blaise trusted him with his relationship with Gryffindor's Seamus Finnigan. Blaise was thirteen when he realized he was gay, and Draco accepted him. He would often tease him about knowing Blaise was in love with him from time to time, but it was in a best friend sort of way. Blaise was fourteen when he realized he was in love with Seamus, and fifteen when he finally got him. Draco knew that the war had been the hardest on the both of them – pretending they hated each other while trying their hardest to protect the other throughout the entire battle. _

_ Blaise worked at the Ministry as well, but not as an Auror. He was a desk clerk for one of the Ministry puppets, but he loved his job. They ran into each other on Draco's first day. Blaise was hurt to know that Draco didn't trust him enough to let him know he was still alive, but once Draco explained the past six months to him, he was quick to forgive him. Come to find out, Seamus was an Auror as well and would be Draco's trainer for the first couple of weeks. Draco invited the couple over to dinner, and Tonya found her two new best friends. The three did everything together and never found a dull moment in their friendship. Draco was fine with that though, because he found a new best friend in Ginny as well. Something he thought only Blaise could ever be. He was friends with everyone else, but he and Ginny found a comfort in each other that they couldn't with the others._

_ They didn't love each other, nor would there ever be a chance they would cheat on or leave their significant others for each other – Draco and Tonya were already married at this point – but they were there for the other. Ginny always felt like a fourth wheel between the golden trio even though she was Ron's sister and engaged to Harry. Whereas, Draco never felt he belonged anywhere unless he was with Blaise or Tonya. But as they all became close, it was like everyone had their trios. Except for him and Ginny – he had Ginny, and Ginny had him. Everyone had their trio, while they had their duo. Ginny was the one who took him shopping to look for the engagement ring for Tonya in fact. Of course, the wedding ring was the Malfoy ring, but he went out and brought a muggle engagement ring that he had added into the Malfoy ring. He had never seen a ring look so beautiful in all his life until that moment, as ironic as it sounds. He thought his father was going to kill him right there for mixing something muggle with a pureblooded heirloom, but Lucius instead gave his blessings._

_ "What is it Harry?" Draco asked once they were standing far along the hallway. He thought Harry was being a little paranoid with their secrecy._

_ "I found some new information on the Death Eaters today," Harry whispered as if the walls would jump out and attack them. "Remember how once you came back in, we explained to you that a bunch of the Death Eaters just up and disappeared?"_

_ "Yeah," Draco scratched his head. This was nothing new. This is what he's been doing for the past year. Hunting down and killing rogue Death Eaters._

_ "Well," Harry leaned in closer to him. "I caught Yaxley today," giving Draco a couple seconds to get over the shock, he continued, "I questioned him before pushing him through the veil. They're after you Draco."_

_ "What?" _

_ Nodding his head, Harry scanned the halls, making sure that no one was watching them. "They all know that Narcissa lied to Voldemort about me being dead, but no one's stupid enough to go after her while she's still with Lucius. But they're pissed with you. Apparently Goyle saw you kill Nott when he tried to kill Ginny. When you disappeared after the war they searched for you while we were searching too. But like us, they figured you were dead; one of the undiscovered bodies, but once you surfaced they started plotting it."_

_ "They've had a year to kill me," Draco reminded Harry, "And it's not like Tonya and I live in America anymore either. They could find me easily. I'm not exactly hiding."_

_ Sighing, Harry pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just… be careful, Draco. Yaxley's one of the ones whose been killing off the ex-Death Eaters. His wand shows that he's the one who killed Flint."_

_ "Don't worry Harry," Draco assured him. "I'm always careful. But thanks for the warning. I'll be sure to keep an eye out. Oh, but can you do me a favor?"_

_ Already knowing what the favor was, Harry nodded his head, "Don't worry. I wouldn't want to be the one that Tonya finds this out from anyways. And according to Seamus, she doesn't know that ex-Death Eaters are being killed either."_

_ "Neither does Blaise, Hermione, or even Ginny," Draco reminded his friend. "We just don't need them to worry."_

"Marcus Flint?" Draco asked, confused about what he just witnessed. "He turned his back on the Death Eaters too? What the hell happens between now and whenever we were killed?"

"I don't have much time," the older version warned him. "I won't be able to return to you like how I did tonight. But I'll tell you as much as I can now. Listen to the dreams as well. They'll answer your questions and they'll keep you reminded of a future where we're better off. Blaise is working with Tonya."

"With Tonya?" Draco cocked an eyebrow. "How come she looks the same as she did in most of the memories and not young like I am now? Why is she wearing the wedding ring that I give to her in the future?"

The older version shook his head, "Because she's the same Tonya from the future."

"What?"

"Tonya traveled back in time, Draco. She was the one who discovered our body. And she had Harry send her back to our fifth year to change everything. She's working with the Order to kill Voldemort by the end of this year and to ensure that you aren't killed in the future. She's changing everything."

"And Blaise?" Draco felt betrayed. He told Blaise about the American girl that he felt a connection to and now he finds out that Blaise knew all along. "She's working with Blaise as well?"

"Now," the older version nodded his head. "Blaise found out by accident. Tonya was livid when she realized that he knew. He's going to talk to you tomorrow. He won't tell you anything about Tonya, but he's going to train you. The battle is happening three years too early, and Blaise is going to prepare you for it. Tonya cannot know anything."

"Why are you telling me this?" Draco asked him. "If I get involved in it now, I may not live past this year at all. Tonya's doing this to protect us. So why are you ruining her plans?"

That was when Draco saw it – the hurt in his older version's eyes; the pain etched into his face and the fear that trumped all of it with a darkened tint. Tears were glistening from the darkened eyes and the younger version felt something in him that he didn't quite understand just yet. "One of these nights you'll remember how much we love her," the older version told him.

"Tell me then," Draco nodded his head. "Tell me everything that you can. What else do I need to know?"

"Tonya's pregnant."

**A/N: The soup thing that Seamus and Draco made is an actual soup made up of actual ingredients that I made up one stormy night (a couple of nights ago) because my nieces were cold and wanted soup and we had literally nothing else that I could find to make soup with so I just threw a bunch of random things into a pot until it looked good enough. Needless to say it was pretty epic, they asked for more, and I am now a genius.(: haha. **

**I googled the sequence for British telephone numbers because I'm more used to the whole (808) xxx-xxxx type of numbers to dial, not (020) xxxx-xxxx. So I hope google hasn't failed me and that I didn't accidentally get someone's real number. But if one of you decides to try it and someone like oh say… Tom Felton or Devon Murray were to answer then I would be extremely jealous and I would claim all rights to their number and say they stole it from me then have them make it up to me by… well… you know…. This is awkward now… So how are you doing? How are the kids? The wife? Your job? School? How 'bout them Chuddley Cannons eh? -oh look, a cat!**


	16. Baby, You're A Firework

**Disclaimer: I do not own Katy Perry or her music. The song, Firework, definitely does not belong to me. It does not even belong to the year 1995, because I'm pretty sure that Katy Perry had no idea she would be singing that song back in 1995. Or 2000, really. But I figured that this song would do good with this chapter – you'll see what I'm talking about… just think of it as a hit from 2000(:**

Baby, You're A Firework

Draco sat in the back of his potions class. He noticed that he was the only Slytherin with a scar on the back of his hand and it made him feel closer to the Gryffindors – closer now than ever it seemed, and it didn't help that he knew the truth either. At least now it all made sense to him: the long glances that Hermione was always sending his way, the whispering that stopped when he got too close to Ginny or Luna, and why the Weasley twins both stopped pranking him. It's been a week since he learned the truth and now all he could do was watch them. He watched them as much as they've been watching him since their return from Christmas break.

His older-self told him all about Tonya's plans from the future and of how his father returned right after her. Tonya – the girl who's been plaguing his thoughts since that day in the alleyway, and now he knew why; she was his wife. She was his wife from the future and she was pregnant with his child. It scared him as he thought about himself becoming a father, but it also filled him up with a sense of pride. Just as quickly as he got excited about it though, the thoughts filled him with anguish and pain – he was dead. He wouldn't get to be a father because in Tonya's time he was _dead_.

"Draco, mate," Blaise whispered, elbowing Draco in the ribs. "Are you okay?"

Blaise – his best friend, his mate for life, the best friend to Tonya in the future, and the future husband of one of the members of the Order. How was he supposed to face Blaise now that he knew the truth? He had to continue to pretend that he had no idea Blaise was working alongside Tonya to ensure Draco's safety. He had to pretend that he didn't know that Blaise was plotting a way with the rest of the Order to have Draco learn the truth before the battle at the Ministry. There was a lot that Draco had been told, had been showed, and a lot was being expected of him by himself. But how could he manage to do all of it without letting Blaise know that he knew?

"I'm fine," Draco nodded his head, forcing one of his smug smirks onto his face while staring into the eyes of his best friend. Blaise was risking his own life by lying to protect Draco. It was like looking into a mirror filled with guilt and secrets. They were working on the same side, knowing the same secrets and wishing for the same outcome, but they were both working in secret.

"Then pay attention," Blaise whispered back to him. "Snape's looking at you like he wants to force feed you poison."

Snape – Severus Snape, Professor Snape, his godfather, his father's best friend, Voldemort's right hand man, a Death Eater, a member of the Order, a two-way spy, the one who gives up his own life to protect Potter in the end. The one man that Draco always thought he could trust had been secretly working to save him as well, and Draco didn't know what to think of that. His older-self told him that Snape was working alongside Potter them to ensure that Draco learned the truth before the battle at the Ministry. It was Snape who suggested that Blaise teach Draco how to fight in secret, and the rest of the Order just went along with it.

Since the morning that he woke up, Draco took in all of his surroundings. One of his own friends would betray him in the end. He knew that it couldn't be Crabbe because the stupid git gets himself killed in a cursed fire that he himself had created during the final war. He walked through the Slytherin dungeons, wary of anyone who passed him by. Who was it – Goyle, Pansy, Millicent, Adrian, Marcus, Astoria, Daphne, Montague, Tracey? He knew that it couldn't be Nott, because he was the one who killed him in the war while trying to protect Ginny. So who else could it be? It definitely wasn't Blaise – not that he would have accused him anyway.

This Potions lesson was no different than breakfast, lunch, dinner, or any other classes from any other day of the week. He stared at his own housemates – the people he was supposed to be able to somewhat trust – with such a hatred that they all began to fear him more than usual, while he watched the Gryffindors, the people he spent all of his school years hating, with a sense of longing and apprehension. It was those people that he became best friends with, they were the ones that he spends his future with, they were the ones who stood by him at his wedding and ate with him every Friday night. It was those very Gryffindors that once glared at him from across this very classroom who was now trying their hardest to ensure that his future death never happens.

Draco's eyes landed on Potter and he sighed. Somewhere in the future, only five years from now, Harry Potter was trying to avenge his death while one of his own friends was the one who caused it. Something was definitely very off in the Potter world.

"What are you eating?" Sirius asked, bouncing into the kitchen and sitting next to a tired looking Tonya.

"Tomato soup," she grinned. "With tuna sandwiches. You want?"

Sirius looked over at the meal and scrunched up his nose. "No, thanks."

"Suit yourself," she shrugged her shoulders and continued to eat her meal.

Charlie and Bill entered the room with Remus in tow. "I'm heading over to Mum and Dad's," Bill announced. "Fred and George just owled us. Today's the day that they're going to get themselves expelled and I'm the only one who will be able to stop Mum from killing them."

Taking a tuna sandwich off of Tonya's plate, Charlie dodged the hand that tried to slap him and grinned, "You shouldn't hit people, it's not nice."

"And you shouldn't steal food off of pregnant girl's plates," she sneered, "It will get you killed."

"I heard you offering some to Sirius," Charlie shrugged his shoulders, taking a bite and groaning in appreciation. "This is good."

Scowling at Charlie, Tonya began to play with her soup while looking up at Bill, "Are the twins going to stay there then or are they coming here?"

"They're going to stay at the Burrow for the night," Bill explained. "Then they're coming here in the morning."

"Tonks is coming in the morning too," Remus announced to everyone, sitting next to Sirius with a cup of coffee in his hands. "She said that she has more clothes for you, Tonya."

Tonya nodded her head. Tonks had been the one who was making sure to bring things that she felt the muggle from the future would need. The way that her closet and dressers were full, you would think that Tonya's lived here all her life. "That's sweet of her," was all she said before turning back to Bill. "Are you coming back tonight or are you returning in the morning as well?"

"In the morning," he said. Staring at Tonya as if trying to read into her mind, Bill cocked an eyebrow, "Why?"

"We need to start planning our break in for Gringotts," she reminded him. "Kreacher already put the locket into the room with the ring that we got, but we still need to get the goblet and the diadem."

"Did Harry say when he was going to grab the diadem?" Charlie asked.

Tonya shook her head, "Not really, but I think he's waiting until we get the goblet. I think he's scared that Voldemort will be able to sense whenever we grab something, so he wants to make sure that we're safe out of the Lestrange vault before grabbing the simpler item."

"That makes sense," Sirius nodded his head in approval.

Remus took a long sip from his coffee. After sighing in relief, he joined back into the conversation. "Well, according to Lucius, Voldemort doesn't seem to suspect anything. He doesn't even notice that his Death Eaters are missing."

"That's lucky for us then."

Hermione was holding onto her books while walking down the corridors. She was warned about what was going to happen, but it still had her nervous – she didn't like fireworks… or well, she didn't really like anything that was loud and equivalent to an explosion, really. She saw Draco walking with Blaise only a couple of feet in front of her, and she couldn't make out what they were talking about. Something was wrong though. It seemed like ever since Monday, Draco seemed more observant about all of his surroundings and it worried her; she noticed that he was keen to watching all of them the way that they had been watching him. It felt like he may have known the truth, but that was ridiculous – Blaise wouldn't have told Draco anything yet, not until they all agreed that they would tell him together. Blaise wasn't the type to go behind their backs. She re-thought that one thought and scoffed, well, at least he wasn't the type to go behind Seamus's back. Blaise knew what was at stake here. Everything had to go perfectly according to plan. They couldn't tell Draco until the timing was perfect for everything to work how they wanted it to. So what was Draco being so suspicious of?

_Do you ever feel like a plastic bag_

_Drifting through the wind, wanting to start again?_

_Do you ever feel so paper thin_

_Like a house of cards, one blow from caving in?_

Hermione paused her walking. She saw Draco and Blaise stop just in front of her. Looking around she saw everyone around her all stopping as well. Seamus, Neville, and even Blaise all caught her eyes. The three boys all had smirks while Ron and Harry tried their hardest to hold in their laughter from right behind her. Hermione inwardly groaned. It was the night before they all returned back to Hogwarts that the twins caught Tonya humming this song to herself while sitting alone in Sirius's office. Apparently this song was a hit amongst Americans in the year 2000, and Tonya loved the song. The twins seemed to love the song too, and would sing it every chance they had. Right now though, their voices could be heard echoing through the halls of Hogwarts, belting a song that had yet to exist.

"What the bloody hell is this?" Draco turned to Blaise in confusion.

Blaise tried to hold in his laughter and keep his passive face on, but it was hard too. The twins didn't mention anything about playing this song to help get them expelled today. "I have no idea, mate."

Harry nudged Hermione with his elbow and she turned around to see Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall both with amused looks in their eyes. They looked as if they both wanted to laugh and shout out in annoyance. They disapproved of the twins' plan from the start, but when Tonya told them all how the twins were originally expelled from Hogwarts, they both sighed and gave in. It seemed like this was inevitable and would have happened either way. They were expecting the fireworks, but fireworks didn't come. Instead of the actual fireworks that they were all expecting to see bouncing throughout the halls of Hogwarts, they were faced with the loud booming voices of the twins just singing about fireworks.

"FRED AND GEORGE WEASLEY!"

_ Then again_, Hermione thought to herself and the looks on the two professor's faces seemed to agree with her, _it would never be just that easy._ Hermione sighed and watched as Professor Umbridge ran beneath the two twins who were cackling from above her on their brooms while dropping what looked like a hundred decks of Exploding Snaps on the evil toad's head. It would be Fred and George Weasley to take the lyrics seriously by dropping decks of exploding cards onto a professor's head.

_Do you ever feel buried deep?_

_Six feet under screams, but no one hears a thing._

_Do you know that there's still a chance for you?_

_'Cause there's a spark in you!_

All the males who were now crowded into the corridors began to laugh and cheer while Hermione groaned. Ginny and Luna were running towards her, also both laughing while the exploding snaps began to stick themselves to Professor Umbridge as if trying to actually bury her alive and drown out her screams. The cards began to actually spark.

"This is brilliant," Ginny whispered to Luna.

"Those Weasley twins are insane," Draco whispered to Blaise, "But bloody brilliant!"

_'Cause baby, you're a firework._

_Come on; show them what you're worth!_

_Make them go, oh, oh, oh_

_As you shoot across the sky, sky, sky!_

Professor Umbridge began to release screeching screaming sounds as she tried to pluck the sparking, exploding cards off of her body just as the fireworks began to erupt in the halls of Hogwarts. It seemed like they were bursting in sync with the song lyrics. The twins were now circling Professor Umbridge with their brooms and laughing as their prank became more epic then how it was originally meant to. Singing along with their own echoing-recorded voices, they continued to shoot fireworks off in the halls, pleased with how it didn't seem to hurt anyone other than Professor Umbridge.

_Baby, you're a firework!_

_Come on, let your colors burst!_

_Make them go, oh, oh, oh._

_You're gonna leave them falling down!_

They were all outside in the courtyard at this point and a dragon shaped firework bit Professor Umbridge right in her arse, causing her to yelp and try to run free. She was shouting out that the twins were expelled and she was going to see them arrested and shoved into Azkaban for this.

"It seems," Professor McGonagall said, placing a hand on Hermione's shoulder and whispering into her ear, "That the twins really have outdone themselves this time."

Hermione looked up and saw that the usually straight-laced professor was cracking an excited smile and trying to keep in her laughter. Hermione nodded her head, "Tonya should be amused when she hears about this."

"EXPELLED! Professor Umbridge continued to shout while being chased by fireworks trying to nip her in the arse. "EXPELLED! YOU WAIT UNTIL CORNE – THE MINISTER HEARS ABOUT THIS! YOU JUST WAIT! EXPELLED! LEAVE HOGWARTS AT ONCE!"

Fred and George both grinned at each other and the cheering students below them before both bowing down on their brooms. They shot another firework into the sky that erupted into a giant 'WWW' then shouted out, "Give her hell from us, Peeves!" then there was a flash and the twins were gone.

Ginny and Luna both stood on each side of Hermione while Harry and Ron stood in front of them. Seamus and Neville were behind them while Draco and Blaise stood only a couple of feet away from them. Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape both went back into 'serious professor' modes and were trying to attempt to calm the students down. Blaise thought that he did a good job of preventing Draco from overhearing what Professor McGonagall told Hermione, but he didn't know that Draco was working better on becoming stealthy. Draco heard everything that was exchanged between them. He even heard what was being said now, although he was pretty sure that not even Blaise could hear them.

"I knew we were expecting fireworks," Seamus stated, "But, blimey… they really did have fireworks, didn't they?"

"I told Tonya it wasn't a smart thing to let the twins learn that song," Ginny shook her head.

Ron was grinning, "Yeah, but look at it this way, they could've performed to the entire thing now, couldn't they?"

"I think the fluwengiens liked the show," Luna announced in her dreamy voice. "They're all still floating around."

Everyone was already used to Luna's mind by now, so they all just smiled and agreed with whatever she said. Neville, however, began to snicker. "Did you see when the dragon bit the toad right in the arse?"

"Harry," Hermione whispered, leaning in closer to her best friend, "Tell Aberforth to get the message out that it's completed. The twins have been expelled."

Hermione met Draco's eyes for a second and she slightly gasped. He nodded his head at her in a friendly gesture before turning away and allowing Blaise to pull him back into the school. Shit! Draco heard her.

**I have no idea what a **_**fluwengien**_** is, but Luna said it… so it must be something awesome(: What did you guys think of this chapter? Is it alright for only 6 pages? What do you guys think the plan for the Gringotts break in is going to be? I'm dying to know if any of you are going to guess it(: I also really want to know what you guys think of it so far! Thank you so much to all of you who reviewed last chapter, I'm stoked to know that so much of you really love this story! Aaaannnnddd…. I hit that 50 mark with my reviews from last chapter! 50 may not seem like much to anyone, but it means the world to me! I forced my best friend's boyfriend to take me out for ice cream in the middle of a freaking hail storm and the flooded roads just so I could celebrate hitting that 50 mark! So thank you guys so so so so so much! I love every single one of you!(:**


	17. A Minx In The Plan

**You guys may like this chapter! Depending on how you feel about a certain little French blonde part Veela that I personally don't care for, but decided to bring in at this moment… And I'm sorry if I offend any French people, I don't mean to – I'm just really bad at writing French accents talking in English ): please, don't hate me!**

A Minx In The Plan

Tonya arrived in the sitting room, being greeted by the loud voice of Bill shouting, "Mum was expecting a letter of your expulsion from Umbridge, but she wasn't expecting a letter saying that you both might get sent to Azkaban! What the bloody hell were you thinking?"

Stopping at the doorway, Tonya's eyes lifted. She knew that the twins were planning their escape for the day before, but she didn't think they would do anything foolish enough to get arrested. "We like fireworks," Fred shrugged his shoulders.

Tonya groaned, "Please tell me that you two did not-"

"-use the song that you taught them as the outline of their escape?" Bill questioned with raised eyebrows, "Yes, they did. And now Mum is crying her heart out because her two sons might be sent to Azkaban."

George rolled his eyes, "Kingsley would never allow that."

"And it's not like they would be able to find us if we stay in Grimmauld Place," Fred added.

Grinning, Sirius ignored the glare coming from Bill. "Perfect, now I'm not the only criminal in hiding."

"Perfect," Charlie winced.

Remus excused himself into the kitchen, claiming he was thirsty and didn't want to bother Kreacher, while Bill and Charlie continued to lecture their brothers about the way they chose to handle things at Hogwarts. Sirius watched as Tonya groggily moved herself to sit next to him. He easily learned why Lucius loved the girl as a daughter – she was just simply easy to fall in love with. It wasn't as if he was falling in love with her in a romantic way, but he found himself attracted to her in the sense that he loved her and would protect her like any father would love and protect his daughter. Over the weeks that she had been living with him, he found himself unable to fall asleep until her sobs ceased from the room next to his. She didn't fall asleep until only four hours before, and he himself only got three hours of sleep before Bill and Charlie came in shouting at the twins.

Everyone knew it – how the two oldest Weasley siblings along with the two remaining Marauders formed a bond with the girl from the future. There was no doubt that if they all lived through this ordeal, then she would be closest to these four when she returns to her own time. Tonya yawned into the back of her hand as she curled up on the couch next to Sirius, allowing Charlie's old Quidditch uniform to fall to the point where it sucked her feet inside of it. As she watched Bill and Charlie going off on the twins for their explosive escapade with her head resting against Sirius, Tonya tugged on the loose, old and battered jersey; a smile forming on her lips.

_They were all sitting in Grimmauld Place. Bill and Charlie were shouting at George because of a prank that he pulled on Percy that ended in St. Mungos and a paranoid fear for anything explosive. Tonya was tired from a twelve hour shift at the Three Broomsticks and curled up on the couch after a long shower in one of the upstairs bathrooms. Kreacher brought her a cup of tea with a dose of some type of muscle relaxing draught in it. _

_ "Mum and Narcissa are hiding out in the library if you want to escape."_

_ Looking up at the curly haired redhead who just joined her on the couch, Tonya smiled and rested her head on his offered shoulder. "Let me guess, Arthur and Lucius are comparing their muggle stories again?"_

_ Percy chuckled. "Dad is recalling the time that he apparated to a large field and saw a group of muggles in checkered jumpers and silly little hats who were all hitting tiny little balls into a hole a couple of yards away from them with a long metal stick. Lucius is boasting that it's called bowling."_

_ "Bowling?" Tonya quirked an eyebrow then started to laugh until she was snorting into her hands. "I've got to have a talk with my dear old father-in-law – those men were golfing, not bowling."_

_ Shaking his head with an amused look, Percy took in Tonya's outfit. "Are you wearing Harry's old Quidditch jersey?"_

_ "I just got off of work," she nodded her head, replying with a quick yawn into her hands. "Rosmerta kept me for twelve hours because Dean didn't show up for his shift again. I came straight here and Ginny threw me into the shower to keep me awake."_

_ "She also gave you her fiancé's jersey?"_

_ "Well she's pissed with Draco about something that I don't understand. It has something to do with her fourth year, a fight, slugs, the bogey bat hex, and Santa?" showing her own confusion at the silly little argument between her husband and his best friend, Tonya shrugged her shoulders. "She forced Harry's jersey onto me just to annoy Draco."_

_ Percy nodded his head. "Got it," he was surprised actually though. Knowing his little sister's temper he was surprised that the only thing she did to Draco was make his wife wear his ex-enemy's old Quidditch jersey, reminding him of the Hogwarts days when Harry was better than him at – oh! Now he really did get it. Seeing Tonya in Harry's old Gryffindor Quidditch jersey was the worst punishment for Draco._

_ "So, you look better," Tonya decided to mention after a couple moments of an awkward silence. "When were you released?"_

_ Shuddering as an automatic reaction to the 'incident' as they all dubbed it, Percy frowned. "Last night. The healers decided I was good enough to leave when they saw that I stopped flinching every time a bell would chime. I never thought I would be so glad to see George pranking people again," he sighed with a saddened tone in his voice and a slight smile playing in the corner of his lips, "Even if I was in St. Mungos for three weeks."_

_ Draco chose that exact moment to enter the room, take in the scene surrounding him, narrow his eyes at his wife's outfit then barge out, shouting something about taking it too far and the end result being the death of Ginny Weasley._

"So how are we going to do this?" Remus questioned, entering the room empty handed. "Are we going to wait for the rest of the Order before we plan anything?"

"Where's Tonks at?" Fred asked, looking around the room and seeing that his favorite Metamorphagus was missing.

"Yeah," Bill looked around the room and also noticed that the usually clumsy and bubblegum haired woman was missing. "I thought you said she was coming for this?"

"She got stuck at the Ministry," Remus explained. "Certain people, not mentioning names, _Weasley twins_," Bill and Charlie scowled at their little brothers once more while they at least had the decency to look ashamed at themselves, "Thought it would be entertaining to attack the Headmistress of Hogwarts with exploding snaps while a dragon replica chased her around, biting her arse."

Sirius began to snicker while even Charlie and Bill had a hard time keeping up their disappointed facades. Tonya grinned for a quick second as she thought about the toad, that she heard about so much, being tortured like that. "That's definitely not what happened originally."

"Well, what can we say-" George smirked.

Fred also smirked, and finished; "-we don't do original."

"But it was you two that did it originally," Bill rolled his eyes.

The twins exchanged a quick glance and shrugged their shoulders in unison before turning back to everyone else, "Don't matter – it's already been done."

Rolling his eyes, but also snickering, Remus sat on the opposite side of Tonya. "So, since Fudge wants some of the Aurors on the case looking into it, Tonks is being detained at work."

"Wow!" Fred grinned.

"We got some of the best Aurors looking for us," George agreed, seemingly in awe at the idea of the Minister of Magic sending Aurors to search for him and his brother when an entire prison of Death Eaters had escaped. "We really are just like-"

"-you, now, Sirius," Fred finished for his twin.

After a couple of detailed minutes about what happened at Hogwarts, and Tonya's groans of regret for teaching them the song in the first place, everyone got off the couches and chairs, moving over to the long table that they had all become accustomed to during the Order meetings. Tonks and Kingsley couldn't make it today because they were both being thrust into their Ministry duties while Arthur was also detained at the Ministry for work. He couldn't call in without looking suspicious, now that his sons were both wanted for their explosive expulsion. Molly refused to be anywhere near the twins, and it's not as if she could have done anything anyways. Then there were the professors and the students – none of them could exactly leave Hogwarts at the moment for this meeting. So once again it was the usual five with the added addition of the twins.

"So, what's the plan?" Remus asked. "Mad Eye owled me last night and he doesn't want Tonya going into Gringotts, since what happened with the ring."

"Which obviously means that Tonya is the one who's going into the vault at Gringotts," Tonya stated with a stern voice that let them know that there was no other plan.

The twins both saw the worry flash in the Marauders' eyes as well as their older brothers' eyes. There was no question with all of the Order members that these five have taken a protective liking to the girl from the future, but now they were going to finally witness just exactly what had been happening while they were working inside of Hogwarts. "Tonya, maybe-"

"You need me, Bill," she said abruptly, cutting him off. "All you know is that you're looking for a goblet inside of the Lestrange vault, but you don't know anything else about it. You have no idea what it looks like, you don't know _which _goblet it is and you have no idea about the curse inside of the vault."

"He's a Curse Breaker, pet," Sirius reminded her. "He discovers curses then breaks them inside of the vaults at Gringotts."

"I wasn't going to try and stop you from coming," Bill smirked. Seeing the flush in Tonya's face, he leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest, "But if you seem to have no faith in me doing my job…" he trailed off, allowing Tonya to figure out what he meant.

Tonya was blushing. "Right," she cleared her throat. "So, maybe… we should do what?"

Chuckling, he cleared his throat, "I was merely going to suggest that maybe we shouldn't tell Mad Eye and the rest of the Order the plan until after we owl them to tell them that we've already retrieved the goblet," there was a slight blush on Bill's cheeks from his embarrassment at his idea of hiding their plan from everyone else.

The twins both had dropped jaws, but there was a gleam of pride in both their eyes as they listened to their oldest brother plot to defy the Order of the Phoenix. Charlie had a smirk on his face as his older brother finally showed other people his slight rebel side, and the two Marauders shared another worried look. Tonya simply only continued to stare at him. She's never seen this side of him before, and it surprised her. She quite liked it. Nobody was truly shocked though until Remus opened his mouth next, "If that's the case then we need to do this today."

After minutes of sputtering, and picking their jaws back up off the floor, it was Tonya who turned to the more level-headed Marauder. "Wait – what did you say?"

"You want us to break into Gringotts today?" Bill asked.

"There's no way we'll be able to plan anything that quickly," Tonya said.

Sirius had an eyebrow quirked and leaned across the table to move in closer to his longest living friend. "Are you seriously considering not only deceiving Mad Eye, but you want to deceive him today?"

"It's the only chance we have," Remus admitted with a soft sigh while his fingers pinched the bridge of his nose. "Mad Eye is arriving first thing in the morning to go over our plan."

"Well, it's not like we have any hair to help us sneak into the vault," Fred reminded everyone. "Not like Hermione them had in the original version, at least."

"And if anything goes wrong, then Voldemort learns what we're up to," George also pointed out.

Charlie added in, "And we don't have Griphook to help us out either."

"Kreacher," Tonya shouted.

With a loud and crackling popping sound, the house-elf arrived, "Are you feeling alright Mistress Malfoy?"

"I'm feeling fine," she nodded her head with a kind smile. "We're going to be here all day though, so could you please make a pot of tea with a potion in it to keep us up?"

Draco was late to class that morning, forcing him to sit with Hermione. Normally when a moment like this would happen, the Gryffindors would _all _be glaring at him, but this morning, there were only a few glares coming his way. He wasn't all that shocked to see that the glares didn't belong to the people he normally would have expected them to come from. Ron, Harry, Seamus, and Neville didn't even give them a second glance. Draco felt more heat and death glares coming from his own side of the classroom. Pansy and Nott both had their heads lowered in a whisper about something that had chills running down Draco's back.

_Nott_, he thought to himself. _Theodore Bloody Nott, _sure they hadn't always seen eye to eye when it came to certain things, but Draco didn't think he would ever have to worry about Nott plotting to kill him – not as if those plans would ever see through, because in the end it's him who kills Nott. Nott was always at the manor and went to all of his birthday parties when they were growing up. He was even there every holiday, and at his parents' Christmas balls. Nott was someone that he never thought he would have to worry about, but now he watched him cautiously. Nott and Pansy. Was Pansy also someone that he had to worry about as well? Was Pansy also planning to kill him? Was Pansy the one who killed him in the future?

Hermione felt Draco stiffen next to her and she lifted her head up from her notes to look up at him. She felt the obligation to ask him if he was alright, the way that she would check on any friend, but he wasn't her friend. _Not yet, at least,_ she thought to herself with a sigh in her mind. Her eyes followed the path that Draco was staring intently into and her breath got caught in her throat. He was staring directly at Pansy with a distraught look in his eyes.

"Malfoy," she decided to call to him. "McGonagall's staring at you as if you stepped on her cat's tail."

Breaking his gaze away from his two childhood friends, Draco turned to the witch that he spent all of his years at Hogwarts hating just because of her blood. It was this witch who was now working to save his life while the older version of her worked in the future to catch his killer. His eyes flickered back to Nott and Pansy who both stopped whispering to stare at him. He was the one who killed Nott during the final battle, just to save the life of the Weaslette, but could Pansy have been the one who killed him. "How long?" he muttered to himself. He didn't expect anyone to hear him, but he heard Hermione cough right next to him.

"What?" she sputtered.

"Pansy," he whispered to her. "I lost my virginity to her. I trusted her as much as I trust Blaise. How long until she betrays me?"

Hermione began to choke now. Rubbing her throat to try and calm herself down, Hermione had genuine fear in her eyes. "Blimey!" Ron shouted, jumping up and running across the classroom to pound on his future fiancée's back. "What did you do to her, Malfoy?"

"No-"

"S-Shut-" Hermione couldn't speak. She kicked Draco beneath the desk, and continued to choke on nothing. Hearing McGonagall say something, then feeling her throat give way to air, Hermione managed to spit out, "He hexed me."

"What, I-" Draco cut off when he saw the pleased looks on the faces of Nott, Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle, Daphne, and Millicent. He looked up at McGonagall who had a pleading look to her worn out wrinkles and back at Hermione who still looked frightened about something.

"Detention, Mr. Malfoy," McGonagall said, "Tonight at seven. Perhaps you should see Madam Pomfrey, Miss Granger."

Nodding her head, Hermione stood up to her feet. Slyly slipping a piece of parchment into Draco's lap as she gathered her things, Hermione said, "I'm fine Ron, I can walk myself, thank you."

Confused at everything that just happened, Draco noticed the slight head nod that Seamus and Neville both shared. Ron whispered something to Harry who also nodded his head slightly and managed to send a death glare towards Draco. Blaise got in trouble for talking to Daphne about something instead of paying attention to their assignment and Draco vaguely heard McGonagall send Blaise to sit next to him. Soon enough, there was a second piece of parchment slipping into his lap.

"Read the one she gave," Blaise casually whispered into his ear. "They'll think it's from me and won't get too suspicious."

Draco was confused, but didn't question it. Carefully slipping the possibly blank note from Blaise into his bag on the floor, he opened up Hermione's note. When the hell did she even have the time to write it?

_ Don't say anything. Don't act differently. You've been acting odd for the past week that even I know you know something. They're supposed to be your friends, so keep acting like it._

"How much do you know?" Blaise asked, reading over his shoulder.

Gulping, Draco felt a little disappointed. He didn't think he's been that obvious about everything. But how was he supposed to act normally? Did they expect him to still walk around the halls with his head held up high and continue acting like a pompous arse? How was he supposed to pretend that everything was alright when he knew that one of his own friends would be the one to kill him in the future? "Everything," was all he said.

There were pieces of parchment everywhere: wrinkled parchment, torn parchment, parchment with ink spilt all on it, and even spit wads of parchment along the floor around the twins and Charlie. There were three kettles and scattered cups filled with tea all along the table. Resting his head against his fist, Sirius continued looking over the opened map. The map of Gringotts was useless, but they all felt more professional and legit with it opened in front of them. Tonya was a little excited – here she was, in a room filled with wizards, planning to break into a bank. It was something she always watched movies about, but never imagined herself living it.

"This is impossible," Charlie groaned. "There's no way that we can plan this out and act it out all in just today, only."

"And aside from going to Gringotts as a child, I've only ever really been inside there no more than five times," Bill added.

There was a thudding sound and everyone turned to see Tonya lifting her head up from where it slammed on the table. "That's it."

"What's it, pet?" Sirius questioned, watching as Tonya rubbed the now red spot on her forehead.

"Gringotts," she excitedly exclaimed. "We can't get inside of it because we don't know anything about it, just yet. In my time Bill works there. You were supposed to start right at the end of the break, I think? I don't really remember, but that's the whole point, ain't it? I mean, you need to _be _there."

Bill listened to what she said, and he slowly nodded his head. "Harry them had Griphook, and now-"

"We have you," she grinned.

"So, we definitely can't act this plan out today then," Sirius sighed. "What do we tell Mad Eye in the morning then?"

Bill stood up, "We'll figure that out later. Tonya, dress warmly and don't forget your gloves."

The twins watched in amazement as Tonya disappeared up the stairs without a question at the sudden order. "Where are you two going?" Charlie asked his older brother.

"To Gringotts," Bill explained, tying his hair back into a ponytail and pulling on his dragon-skin winters coat. "Tonya's right. We don't have Griphook to help us break inside of any of the vaults. I'm our only chance. Without any inside help, we'll never be able to get inside the Lestrange vault, especially not without being caught."

"So what are you planning on doing once you get there?"

"I'm going to apply," Bill grinned.

_Enter stranger, but take heed_

_Of what awaits the sin of greed, _

_For those who take, but do not earn,_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn._

_So if you seek beneath our floors_

_A treasure that was never yours,_

_Thief, you have been warned, beware_

_Of finding more than treasure there._

_ "I take it that the goblins don't like it when people try to steal from their banks," Tonya noted as she stopped in front of the snow-white building and stared at it in awe – the entire building was made up of marble._

_ Stopping in front of the silver doors, Draco looked over at his girlfriend and chuckled when he saw that she was intrigued by the poem. Linking his fingers between hers, Draco stood next to her and re-read the sign that he already had memorized. "They once said that Gringotts was the safest place right next to Hogwarts."_

_ "They don't say that anymore?" she questioned._

_ "Three seventeen year olds managed to break into the undergrounds, steal a goblet from my aunt's vault, and escape on a dragon without a scratch," he chuckled. "Not to mention the fact that I also singlehandedly helped Death Eaters to sneak into Hogwarts and kill the Headmaster-" Draco trailed off and Tonya saw the familiar signs of regret shadowing his eyes so she pulled his body against hers and smiled up at him. Draco cleared his throat and smiled down at her, thankful to have her stop him from reaching a state of depression once more. "So, no… they don't say that anymore."_

_ "Don't let Ron hear you say that," she chuckled, allowing him to pull her through the large double doors. "He'll never let it go that he helped to make one of the safest places no longer safe."_

_ Rolling his eyes, Draco made sure to keep Tonya close to his body at all times, not wanting to let her out of his sight for even a quick second. Leading her to the back of the bank, Draco noticed that all of the goblins were staring at him; a few of them were even whispering, and he didn't have to sink into any of their minds to know what they were gossiping about. – They were obviously talking about the arrival of the missing Malfoy heir. It was no secret about the disappearance of the young Death Eater at the end of the war, and once he returned back to the wizarding world Rita Skeeter made sure everyone knew about the American muggle that came attached with him._

_ "Malfoy!"_

_ Tonya and Draco both turned around, instinctively. Tonya took in the pale skin, freckles, fang earring hanging from one ear and the long red hair tied back into a ponytail. She flashed him a warm smile, but Draco tightened his grip on her hip and allowed his uneasiness to show. "Weasley," he nodded his head in acknowledgement._

_ "I was wondering when you'd show up here," he smiled kindly. Looking over at the girl in the Death Eater's arms, he chuckled then smiled again. "Hullo, Bill Weasley."_

_ "Tonya Bruhn," she smiled back, accepting the hand that he was holding out to her. "It's nice to meet you."_

_ "You too," he told her. "Ginny and Hermione are always going off about you."_

_ "Oh no," she laughed. "I assure you, I'm not as crazy as they claim I am."_

_ Laughing at what Tonya said, Bill scratched the back of his neck, "Well, I'll let you two go; the goblins always get their knickers in a twist when I'm late from my break. It's good to see you back here, Malfoy." _

_ Draco nodded his head, still not used to being treated kindly by his former enemies. "It's good to be back," he admitted._

_ "I imagine it is," Bill said, sincerely. "Well, I'll be seeing you both around. Malfoy, Miss Bruhn."_

_ "Bye," Tonya said with a tiny wave. _

"Tonya," Bill said, tugging gently on the girl's hand. "Are you okay?"

Nodding her head, Tonya pulled Sirius's coat tighter against her body. "Yeah," she said, "The goblins always just creeped me out."

"C'mon," pulling her to the side of the building, he said, "I need to find Ragnok."

"Ragnok?"

"The goblin in charge," he nodded his head. "Was he here in your time?"

Tonya shook her head. Dropping her voice to an extremely low whisper, she added in, "Most of the goblins now were killed by Voldemort after the break in from Harry them."

Bill nodded his head to show that he understood. "Make sure you keep your ring covered at all times, goblin magic is almost close to the magic of a house-elf. If any of the ones that are dead in your time recognize the ring, we'll be caught. And if there is a goblin from your time who just so happens to be here, there's a chance that they'll recognize you."

"And you couldn't tell me that before we left," Tonya growled at him in an irritable voice.

Bill snickered. "I didn't think you would want Remus and Sirius forbidding you to come with me. You should just be happy that the twins managed to talk Charlie out of coming with us."

"Yeah, yeah," she rolled her eyes. "Just hurry up and find the goblin so we can leave. I've never liked this place."

"Really?"

Tonya nodded her head. "Draco brought me here the day after he returned. It was when I first met you actually – you were definitely checking me out by the way," she added in a smug smirk, "Then he took me to one of the desks. The goblin helping us out was creepy and he kept peering down at me through his tiny little glasses. Plus I heard all about Harry them escaping on the dragon and it creeped me out even more, just knowing that these guys have dragons tied up downstairs, unfed, chained, and tortured. I just don't like this place," she finished with a shudder.

"I'm so glad you didn't tell Charlie that part of their escape," Bill sighed. "Well, do you want to sit down while I do this?"

Thinking about it for a bit, Tonya shook her head. "I don't want to be alone in here."

Nodding his head, Bill allowed her to wrap her arms around his. He smiled to himself – checking her out, it sounded like something he would do. While they were walking the long checkered marble path to the desk that he knew would lead them to the head goblin that he needed to talk to for a job, Bill listened as Tonya reminded him that in order to get into the Lestrange vault in the first place, they would need a goblin. In order to get into the vault, a goblin who worked in the bank would have to place their entire hand on the door then drag it down. It would be extremely difficult to get done, but they didn't have time to worry about it just yet. First, they needed to figure out what they would do. They would worry about finding a goblin to open the vault for them, later.

"What do you want?" the goblin demanded when the wizard and muggle approached his desk.

Tonya shrunk back a little and hid behind Bill, making him a smirk a little. So, she did have fears? "My name is Bill Weasley," he introduced himself. "I'm wondering if I could be transferred from the Egypt branch. I'm a Curse Breaker."

"One minute!" the raspy voice practically shouted.

Tonya made sure to hold onto Bill at all times while the goblin helping them went through a stack of papers in front of him. There were only a few times that she willingly came to Gringotts with Draco before, and once she came with Charlie to drop something off to Bill for Fleur, but she had never seen him actually _at work_ before, and she had a new admiration for him. Here she was, cowering behind Bill from a two foot tall creature with a bumpy forehead, glasses, long fingers and pointy teeth, and dressed in a suit, but there he was – standing tall with a force in his voice that showed the goblin he wasn't frightened by him.

Deciding to look around the bank, Tonya froze. Her eyes met the light blue of a blonde woman that she knew very well in her own time. Well, okay – not very well. But a woman that she knew. She and Fleur never really got along because the Veela thought that it was alright to flirt with Draco. Tonya knew that Draco would never do anything with Fleur – French people freaked him out ever since an incident in Paris when he was nine and he ended up separated from his parents – and she knew that Fleur would never betray Bill; her Veela blood may have been very minimal, but it was still dominate enough to make her madly in love with Bill. So Tonya knew that she had nothing to worry about, and that the flirting was just Fleur being Fleur, but it still annoyed her.

It was odd seeing Fleur right now, just as odd as it was seeing George with two ears and Fred alive. It was an oddness that Tonya felt she would never get used to. Like always, Fleur was being her very beautiful self. Dressed in a dark blue pencil skirt that stopped right above her knees with a slit up to her thighs and a dark blue jacket over a white oxford shirt, Fleur was wearing dark blue pumps that she wore a couple of times in Tonya's time as well. The lengthy blonde waves were tied back into a French braid just past her shoulders and black eyeliner outlined the narrowed light blue eyes that didn't seem too happy at the sight in front of her.

"Shit!"

Bill heard the sudden muttered curse, and looked down at her, "What is it?"

"I don't feel good," Tonya quickly lied, pulling away from him. "Pregnancy stuff. I think I'm going to go and sit down now."

"Alright," it looked like he wanted to go with her to make sure that she would be alright, but he knew how important it was that he got this job. "This should be over soon. I'll find you once it's finished."

"Okay."

Tonya didn't really want to leave Bill. It was weird to her. In her own time, she was never alone with Bill, and only talked to him at parties and at the occasional gathering – it wasn't that much though. Bill formed a close relationship with Draco more than he did with her. Like Fleur, the oldest Weasley was a bit flirtatious – not enough to make her uncomfortable, but to the point where they just never got too close with each other. But now… now, she felt comfortable with him. Bill became somewhat like a security blanket to her in the past, as much as Sirius, Charlie, and even Remus. In her own time, Charlie and her were really pretty close – Bill being extremely close to Percy – and she was close to him now as well, but now... well, now, she was really close to Bill too, maybe even closer to him than to Charlie. And now she didn't want to leave him, especially not to go and approach a now jealous Veela.

It's not like she and Fleur had ever been close. Fleur was usually kind to her, and likewise, but as mentioned, Tonya didn't like how she flirted with Draco. There were the rare occasions where the two could have a civil conversation alone, and in those moments they were both laughing and smiling, but it was extremely rare because Tonya tried her best to avoid those moments. One night everyone decided to bail out on plans and Tonya somehow ended up at Shell cottage with Fleur; the two of them got drunk together and ended up talking about their sex lives and spilling secrets on their husbands – that was the first and last time that Tonya didn't feel the urge to strangle the Veela.

"Fleur Delacour," Tonya nodded her head in a friendly gesture.

"Woo are yooh?"

_Whoa! Her French accent is extremely strong in this year_, Tonya thought to herself. "My name is Tonya," she introduced herself. "Your mate, the one that I was holding onto," she saw Fleur's eyes darken just a little, as she stuck her nose in the air, pretending to not know what she was talking about, "His name is Bill Weasley. And I'm not with him, don't worry. He's like a big brother to me. I'm married."

"I do naht know vat it eez yooh are tawkeeng avout."

"Yes, you do," Tonys chuckled. Leaning in closely, she whispered, "It's a long story, but I'm from the future. I know you and I know Bill. You're both married and you're pregnant. I have pictures for proof. Not on me of course, but I do have them at the place I'm currently staying at. Bill is your Veela mate."

The darkened eyes lightened a shade lighter than its normal color and Tonya grinned to herself. She knew what that color meant. Fleur looked over at Bill who was still talking to Ragnok about his transfer. "Vy is he hea?"

"He's transferring here from the Egypt branch," Tonya explained. "I can't tell you everything right now; not where we could be heard, but I'm telling the truth."

"I believe yooh," Fleur assured her. "I can veel eet. Vat brought yooh hea? Can I 'elp vit anyting?"

It seemed like half an hour passed by, but Bill was pleased. He got the job. He starts tomorrow. Taking the paperwork from Ragnok, Bill turned away from the desk and abruptly stopped in his spot. His breath got caught in his throat. Tonya had her back to him, but he saw who she was talking to. How the hell? The familiar woman from the pictures looked up at him and smiled; his heart melted. Is that why Tonya left him – she spotted Fleur and ran over to talk to her? What was he supposed to do now? He saw pictures of his arms wrapped around this beautiful sight across from him – he saw pictures of his own wedding to her, and he saw what she looked like with the shining glow of pregnancy and he saw her pictures of her bulging belly filled with _his_ child. He was married to this woman and they were expecting their first child, but he couldn't even work up the courage to approach her.

"Bill," Tonya said, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Snapping back to reality, Bill blinked. He looked around. She was gone. "I-I thought that I saw-"

"You did," Tonya chuckled. "She had to go back to work already because we've been talking for about half an hour. I couldn't tell her everything, but I told her enough. You're meeting her tonight at a muggle diner just outside of Diagon Alley. You'll tell her everything then. We need to owl Dumbledore once we get back home so he can give a letter with the location of where we're staying, so she can get inside."

Bill blinked once, twice, three times, eleven times. "Wait – what?"

"C'mon," Tonya chuckled again. Placing her hand on his back, Tonya began to lead Bill out of Gringotts. "Let's go home and get you ready for your date with your pregnant wife."

_"I was fifteen," Tonya laughed. "My algebra teacher was annoying the hell out of me. He kept calling my name over and over again just to see if I was paying attention or not."_

_ "Well, were you?" Seamus asked._

_ "Of course I was," she said with a proud huff and her nose in the air. "And the prick learned it too. Every question that he shot at me, I came back with the right answer. Soon enough he was calling on me just so I would get it wrong."_

_ "Did you get it wrong?" Blaise asked._

_ "Nope," Tonya grinned. "And he was pissed with me. He gave me a detention."_

_ Draco was confused. "Your teacher gave you a detention because you didn't get an answer wrong?"_

_ "Gee," Seamus rolled his eyes. "That sounds familiar. I bet 'Ermione would be able to compare stories."_

_ Draco threw a pillow across the room at Seamus then laughed when Seamus pulled away and it hit Blaise in the chest instead. "Oi!" Blaise shouted, but it was drowned out by his own laughter._

_ "Sorry, mate," Draco continued to laugh._

_ Rolling his eyes again, Seamus cuddled back against Blaise and continued the conversation, "So what did you 'ave to do for your detentions. Snape always made us clean out cauldrons."_

_ "Well, since we didn't have cauldrons, we had to scrape gum off from beneath the desks and scrub the chalkboards," she shuddered then a wicked grin formed on her lips. Draco snorted at the sight of it. Blaise and Seamus also knew that nothing good came from this particular grin of hers. "Mr. Klein never gave me a detention since then."_

_ "What did you do, love?"_

_ Feigning an innocent voice, Tonya shrugged her shoulders, "There was no gum under any of the desks so I got all of my friends to chew lots of gum. When he returned to check on me, his entire desk was covered in all sorts of gum."_

_ There were sounds of disgust and laughter all around the room, that Lucius and Narcissa came in to see what they were doing and ask if they should be worried. The movie they were supposed to be watching remained forgotten in the background as the four friends continued to just laugh and compare their detention stories._

"Mr. Malfoy."

Draco jumped as he was jerked out of a daydream from the future. "Professor?"

McGonagall stepped into the classroom and made sure to lock the door… but not until everyone else filed in behind her. "Hermione, be a dear would you and silence the room."

"Yes, Professor," Hermione raised her wand to the door, and Draco gasped when he saw that she didn't even have to say the spell aloud.

"Draco, mate," Blaise said, approaching his friend. "Earlier, you said that you know everything – what do you mean you know everything?"

Draco continued to sit at his desk. He saw everyone staring at him – there was all of his enemies: Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Seamus, Neville, and Luna. There was his friend: Blaise, and even two of his professors: McGonagall and Snape. He could see all sorts of different emotions in all of their faces, but he couldn't read not one of them. "I mean, I know that Tonya's my wife from the future and that she's pregnant with my child. I know that my father followed her here after my death while all of you are back there, trying to catch the person who killed me," he watched as Ginny, Luna, Ron, and Seamus all exchanged gleeful looks and everyone else exchanged worried looks.

"How?" asked Snape. "You weren't supposed to know so quickly."

Draco continued to stare at all of them and sighed. "I have my memories."

"How much do you know?" Neville asked him. "I mean – what memories do you have?"

Draco paused for a moment. "Most of them," he admitted. "They still come to me when I sleep or when I drift off. I just had one when you guys came in here. It was a movie night at the manor. Blaise and Seamus were watching a movie with Tonya and I, and she told us about a detention she had at her old school."

"You called me Seamus."

"Well," Draco smirked, "You marry my best mate, don't you."

"That still doesn't answer everything," Harry pointed out, purposely ignoring the sickening grin from both Blaise and Seamus. "Just exactly how much do you know?"

"Everything," Draco repeated. "I know everything. I know everything, but who killed me. I know more than you guys do. I just don't know who killed me."

**A/N: Woohoo we made the 60 mark in the last chapter! Thank you all so much for reviewing, favoriting, and alerting. I'm literally just ignoring some of my other stories just so that I can ensure this story and 2 of my other ones are completed soon enough and before any of my other ones! This story and those 2 others are my MAIN priorities for the moment so yay!(: **

**Oh and: Woohoo, **_**23Nelly, I love you and I am very happy to see your name in yet another one of my stories!(: **_**That is all I have to say! (and that your questions shall be answered in a couple of chapters) -and **_**DJDvampgirlp227:**_** I wasn't really thinking of having him with anyone, but I remember your name from one of my other stories and since that's one of the stories that I'm putting on hold until this one is completed… I will give you a special treat at the ending(:**


	18. Dreaming Of Tomorrow

**Disclaimer: I don't own Christina Aguilera nor do I own her song; I Turn To You! (I've posted two song-fics in the past week, and you guys may be sick of me doing songs in this story or any of my other stories, but it's very essential to this entire story, and song-fics are my muse in a way) – the song lyrics will be in regular, and the story will be in italics. Also some of the first part was taken directly from the 'Deathly Hallows' book. I tried to make it more so in Draco's point of view though, but there's still some of the Harry/Voldemort death scene in there directly from the book. Whatever you guys recognize, I obviously don't own.**

**Warning: This chapter is 33 pages long! Please enjoy it(:**

Dreaming Of Tomorrow

When I'm lost in the rain,

In your eyes, I know I'll find the light

To light my way.

_"… and after I have killed you, I can attend to Draco Malfoy…"_

_ Draco poked his head out from behind the blown up table that he was currently trying to stay hidden behind. He heard the Dark Lord mention something about killing him. Trying to quietly push a sheet of metal away from himself with the heel of his foot, Draco tried to creep a bit closer towards the middle of the hall where Potter was now standing face to face with the lord that he himself once served and gave his life away to. Potter stood there, amongst the hundreds and hundreds of bleeding followers for both the light and the dark side. Scarred, bleeding, muddy, and covered in burns, Potter continued to stand his ground – a ground that he was paving for the ones who didn't have the power to stand up bravely like he did. _

_ Draco remained hidden as best as he could, watching the scene in front of him along with the rest of the followers; both for the light and the dark side. He, however, didn't know which side he belonged on. Should he stand with the ones who bared the same evil mark of death like his, or should he stand alongside the ones that he had been secretly trying to protect throughout the night? Was there even a third option? Was there a section for scared little boys who no longer wanted to kill innocent people because of blood that was just as red as his own and was cleaner than his hands would ever be? Draco looked around the Great Hall and he felt the warm sensation of tears falling down his cheeks and burning its own path; there were no gray sections in the wizarding world, everything was black and white – you either followed the Dark Lord or you followed Harry Potter. There was light and there was dark, no in-betweens. They didn't have a side for turncoats who changed their mind in the middle of a battle._

_ "So it all comes down to this, doesn't it?" Draco shook his thoughts away, and turned back to the scene in front of him. He missed most of what was said, but he was pretty sure that Potter wouldn't give the Dark Lord a chance to search for him. Potter was whispering loudly enough for everyone to hear him. "Does the wand in your hand know its last master was disarmed? Because if it does… I am the true master of the Elder Wand."_

_ Draco gasped when he heard Potter speak. What about the Elder Wand? What does a child's story have to do with anything? Could that be why the Dark Lord was going to kill _him_ next – was he truly that psychotic to kill someone over a bedtime story? Draco swallowed spit as soon as he asked himself the question – of course he was that psychotic to kill someone over a bedtime story; he was the Dark Lord. Draco watched in awe, filled with admiration, panic, and fear at what happened next…_

_ A red-gold glow burst suddenly across the enchanted sky above them as an edge of dazzling sun appeared over the sill of the nearest window. The light hit both of their faces at the same time so that the Dark Lord and Potter's faces were suddenly a flaming blur. The Dark Lord's screech was just as loud as Potter's, as they both lifted wands high towards the heavens: the Dark Lord lifting the Elder Wand, and Potter lifting Draco's old wand that he won, back in the manor. In unison, they both shouted:_

_ "Avada Kedavra!"_

_ "Expelliarmus!"_

_ Draco held his breath along with the rest of the audience as they heard a bang like a cannon blast and saw the golden flames that erupted between both dark and light at the dead center of the circle they had been treading, marking the point where the spells collided. Draco watched as the Dark Lord's green jet met Potter's red jet from the disarming spell that he casted. The Elder Wand flew high, dark against the sunrise, spinning across the enchanted ceiling like the head of Nagini had when Longbottom beheaded her, spinning through the air towards the master it would not kill. Draco watched in amazement as Potter, with the unerring skill of the Seeker, caught the wand in his free hand as the Dark Lord fell backward, arms splayed, and the slit pupils of his scarlet eyes rolling upward._

_ Draco grinned in shocked excitement as the Dark Lo – no, no, not the Dark Lord – Voldemort. Draco grinned in shocked excitement as Voldemort dropped dead. It remained silent for only one second before the Great Hall became filled with screams and cheers. That was when he dropped._

_ Looking down at his own bleeding and frail body, Draco held onto his crushed ribs from the spell that Parkinson flew at him. Glancing one last time at the savior of the wizarding world, who was now being engulfed by the ones who stuck by his side from their first Hogwarts train ride, Draco whispered a quick, "Thanks, Potter," then shutting his eyes, he blanked out his mind, and whispered just as softly, "Home."_

_ Smelling like coffee and burnt food grease, Tonya was muttering underneath her breath about damn truckers with no manners, stupid jocks who had nothing better to do then grab asses, and how the rain was against her, when she heard a weird crackling sound. It sounded almost like somebody was cracking a thousand knuckles at the same time while playing with electricity. It reminded her a little bit of that one time that her friend's brother plugged in a plug that was too big for the socket then it made a *pop* sound and there was a small burst of light with a *crack* before everything in the house went off. Looking around to see if the noise came from behind her, Tonya shook her head then continued walking, deciding that she had worked too long and she was finally cracking._

_ Turning the corner, she released a tiny frightened scream. Ignoring the fact that it was nearly one in the morning, she was still in her waitressing outfit, she had no umbrella, and it was pouring, Tonya ran forward and knelt down next to the bleeding body lying in front of her. Peering down at the boy in front of her she saw that his eyes were closed, and she immediately pressed her fingers to that spot on his neck just like how they taught her in her tenth grade health class. Releasing a soft sigh of relief that the boy in front of her was still alive, barely, Tonya couldn't help but to notice how abused the boy looked: his skin reminded her of those creepy porcelain dolls that her mother used to collect, and his lips were blue like in the movies. The rain had his hair sticking to his face, and she couldn't determine whether or not the coldness of his skin was from the rain or from whatever he just went through. Although the boy was dressed in a long black robe over what looked like more black clothes, Tonya could already tell that he was badly bruised. It wasn't that that scared her though, no, she was frightened by the pink trail of washed out blood mixing in with rain that seemed to be surrounding his body._

_ "Help!" she shouted, keeping her hands on one of the slashes on his robes that had blood seeping from it, "Help! Somebody, please, help!"_

_ A freezing hand suddenly shot up and connected around her wrist. "No," came a foreign accent that Tonya's often fantasized about ever since she heard Spike speaking on an episode of Buffy, "No, Aurors."_

_ Aurors? Confused, but assuming that maybe the British people called their police, Aurors, Tonya nodded her head. She knew that she should have ignored his request and continued calling out for help anyway, but there was something about him… something about this bleeding and nearly dead boy that had her nodding her head. "Your ribs look broken," she informed him. "But my apartment is only another minute walk from here; do you think you can do it?"_

_ Draco heard an American accent speaking to him; it sounded like a scared American accent. She was asking him if he could manage to walk the one minute to her apartment, whatever that was, and he nodded his head. If he could fight for over an hour, he could walk for only one more minute. Grunting as he tried to stand up, Draco felt tiny arms wrap around him and he dropped back down. Warm… her arms were warm. Draco thought it odd how he found warmth in the middle of a rain storm. _

_ Tonya looked down and saw the boy's eyelids fluttering. Thankful for her old school making gym mandatory all four years, she kept her grip on the boy and continued trying to help him up. Within only seconds the boy opened his eyes, and Tonya stared down at him._

_ Grey stared into blue._

_ "C'mon," Tonya said, struggling to lift the boy up. "Let's go home."_

_ "Home," Draco smiled. The foreign word sounded so comfortable leaving his mouth. "I'm Draco."_

_ Tonya looked down at the boy, and couldn't help but to smile. He was bleeding, bruised, most likely had broken ribs or crushed ribs, and he could hardly breathe, but he had the energy to introduce himself to her. "Tonya," she introduced herself as well._

_ Tonya… Draco liked that name._

And when I'm scared,

And losing ground,

When my world is going crazy,

You can turn it all around.

_"No!" jerking out of a dream about giant marshmallows and the evil Chucky doll, Tonya sighed and laid back down into the comfort of her bed. "No, you've got to help them! Please, somebody, no!" just as her head hit the pillow, Tonya jerked back up again, this time though, she flew the covers off as well. Her feet hit the cold tile of her bedroom floor, just as she heard Draco shouting, "Potter, you've got to protect the muggles!"_

_ "Draco," dropping to her knees next to the couch, Tonya gently called out to the pale boy. The first night that he stayed over, she learned not to try to shake him awake or just loudly shout his name, because he awoke with a start and held a long stick, which she learned was a wand, in her face. "Draco," tears were falling from her eyes as she knelt there, unsure of what to do. This has been happening for the past ten nights, and she still didn't know how to bring him out of it. Crying as she watched the boy on the couch jerk wildly in his sleep while calling out for his former enemy to protect the muggles, Tonya slowly reached out her hand, gently touching the side of his face where his own tears fell in his sleep. "Draco, please…"_

_ "Tonya?" flying his eyes open, Draco was greeted by the sight of his kind, young hostess crying above him. Quickly reaching for the wand that he had still yet to return to his mother, Draco jumped up and began to search the apartment. "What happened?" he asked in a strained voice. It's only been ten days since the final battle, and seeing as how Tonya wasn't a healer or even a muggle doctor, his wounds were still painful and slightly open._

_ "Draco?" Tonya remained on her knees, in awe of how quickly he woke up with just her gentle touch, and slightly ashamed of being caught crying over him._

_ "What's wrong?" Draco asked, turning back to the girl who was still kneeling on the ground, next to the couch that he's been residing these past days and nights. "Why are you crying?"_

_ "You were dreaming again," she replied in a soft voice, "I heard you calling out for Harry to help you protect the muggles."_

_ "Oh."_

_ Lowering his wand, Draco felt like a fool. Clutching his side, he limped back towards the couch, the adrenaline of protecting this girl now gone, and the pain back. Allowing Tonya to help him sit back down, Draco thought back to his dream. Just like every night since he somehow apparated himself to California, he dreamt of another scenario where Voldemort and the Death Eaters were torturing muggles for the fun of it. And just like all those other dreams, this one was just another horrid memory that he never wanted to remember: this one was where he was forced to kill three muggle children because they threw a ball that landed too closely to Dolohov. Just as he was lifting his wand to kill them though, it changed – just like all his other dreamt up memories – he began calling for help, and Potter appeared with his wand ready to save the day, but instead of aiming the wand to kill Draco, Potter directed the wand towards the children. Draco called out for Potter to protect the children, but Potter only sneered at him and told him that when dark becomes light, light becomes dark because it balances out good and evil. Potter was telling Draco that when he turned his back on Voldemort, Potter turned his back on the Order. Draco may have been on the light side now, but he was on the dark side, because there was no grey, everything was black and white. When Draco walked away Voldemort lost his young Death Eater, so Potter was replacing him. _

_ But then the usual dream changed. Just as Potter was about to kill the muggle children while Draco watched, unable to do anything to help them, he heard Tonya call out his name. Tonya called out to him, and he could feel her warmth on his face. Then he heard it – she was pleading with him, begging for him to wake up. Draco couldn't disappoint her, he wouldn't disappoint her, he didn't want to disappoint her, so he did the only thing he could think of doing, he forced himself to wake up. Once he opened his eyes though, he saw her crying over his body, and he immediately thought that someone was there. Maybe one of the Order members found him, and she was scared? Then… then he learned that she was crying because of him – she was crying because of his dreams._

_ Feeling a numbing sensation on his chest, Draco looked down and saw the frail looking hands pressing an ice pack to where one of his homemade stitches opened up. "When you jumped up, you ripped the stitches," Tonya softly told him. "I'm sorry."_

_ "Why are you sorry?" he asked her._

_ "I'm going to have to re-sew it back up."_

_ Draco nodded his head to show that he understood why she was apologizing, "You have nothing to be sorry for," he told her in a kind voice; a voice that not even his mother had heard him speak in before. "You've done so much for me Tonya; without you, I don't know where I would be right now."_

_ Tonya stared blankly at him, unsure of what to say to that. Draco continued to stare at her some more, and she blushed slightly. "Hold this in place," she said, suddenly coughing. "I'm going to go and sterilize the needle."_

_ Holding the icepack in place, Draco watched in amusement as Tonya stood back up and walked towards the loo to grab her things. Smirking as he thought about the blush on her cheeks when he stared at her, Draco felt his own cheeks slightly burning up. He's never blushed before, but then again he's never felt so protective over a muggle either. He wouldn't lie, he was scared shitless about what would happen if either the Death Eaters or the Order were to find him, but he didn't worry too much about that; the only thing on his mind was keeping Tonya safe from now on. She saved his life, and he would make damn sure that he saved hers as well._

And when I'm down, you're there

-pushing me to the top.

You're always there,

Giving me all you've got.

_ Sitting on the couch, Draco stared at the wand in his hands. It's been three weeks since he escaped to America somehow, and he still hadn't heard anything from the wizarding world. His ribs were only bruised now and most of his cuts were beginning to only scar now. His dreams still continued, but now they didn't last as long. Tonya had taken to sleeping in the living room next to the couch so that once he began to shout, she would wake him up quickly. Ever since that one night, she discovered that her gentle touch was the one thing that could pull him out of his nightmares. Draco felt guilty about everything, and he offered to silence the living room so that way he wouldn't wake her up with his screams, but Tonya always only shook it off and told him that she knows he would do the same if it were her._

_ Her words still made him think – would he? Would he give up the luxury of his comfortable bed to sleep on the hard tiled floor of a filthy flat while a bleeding and nearly dead stranger took over his couch and kept him up all night with her screaming? But then he thought again – it wasn't any stranger that he would help out; it was Tonya. Then he nodded his head. He would – he would do the same for her. He would do the same and so much more for her. Then he would think – what would he have done if he were thrown into this position before he realized that muggles and muggle-borns had the same red blood as him? Would he still help her out? But then he would sigh – she was Tonya, of course he would. Even if he was still biased and hated everything to do with muggles, he would help her out. He knew he would from the moment he opened his eyes and stared into her soft blue orbs. Draco could have still been a loyal Death Eater, Voldemort's right hand man, the number one muggle killer, and he would have still helped out Tonya. All he needed to do was look into her eyes._

_ "You're home early."_

_ "I fell asleep in the middle of taking an order," Tonya replied, plopping down onto the couch next to Draco, and giving him a weird look. "How'd you know I was there? I made sure the door didn't make any squeaks when I came inside."_

_ Shrugging his shoulders, Draco took in Tonya's thigh lengthened white dress thing with sleeves that stopped three inches above her elbow and the white apron with big pockets that she wore over it. She had her rainbow colored hair tied up into a sloppy bun that reminded him of Granger's hair every time finals came near, and her feet were still hidden in the discomfort of hideous black shoes. "Why do you put up with that horrendous job?"_

_ "Somebody needs to pay the bills?" Tonya replied, shrugging her shoulders. "How 'bout pizza tonight? I'm too lazy to cook anything."_

_ Nodding his head, Draco leaned towards the table next to him, and grabbed the house phone – something that Tonya made sure he knew how to use on his first day there before leaving him alone while she went to work – and began to dial a number that Tonya also made sure he had memorized aside from her cell and work numbers. "Mushroom and bacon?"_

_ "But of course Mr. Malfoy," Tonya grinned. Standing up, she tossed the large sized, beige Hello Kitty purse over to Draco then said, "The wallet's in there somewhere. If it's the cute guy give him a ten dollar tip, if it's that annoying chick give her no tip, and if it's anyone else give them a five dollar tip. I'll be in the shower washing this damn grease out of my hair."_

_ Shocked that she would trust him with her entire purse and wallet after only three weeks of knowing each other, a bit jealous that she thought the usual pizza delivery guy was cute, and stunned that he knew what type of pizza Tonya preferred after only three weeks of staying with her, Draco watched her walk past her bedroom and into the loo. It's been three weeks and they still got into arguments about what to call it: Tonya still called it a bathroom, and he preferred it to be called a loo; it was a stupid argument, and it was the only time that British terms seemed to annoy Tonya, but Draco felt that it was more that her pride kept getting in her way every time he would correct her on the right terms._

_ "Hullo," he said into the phone. "No, I don't want to hear your specials, I already know what I want," looking towards the loo where Tonya was leaning against the doorframe and staring at him, Draco slightly smiled at her. "My number is 209-555-1289. Yes for Tonya," Draco scowled, "Do I sound like a bloody Tonya to you," he turned his scowl on to Tonya who was now laughing at him. "It doesn't matter what I'm doing here, all that matters is that I'm ordering pizzas to be delivered to the address that is linked in with this number. I want one large bacon and mushroom and one large pepperoni. Yeah, I know how much it costs. Oi, and make sure you send that one woman, the one with the gap and the beaver teeth. Yeah, the one with an extra face on her forehead and the one large eyebrow." Hanging up the phone, Draco turned to the laughing girl, and he narrowed his eyes at her. "I thought you were going to shower?"_

_ "I am," Tonya nodded her head. _

_ Draco continued to stare at her. The bathroom door remained wide open, and he could see past her that the water from the shower was spraying out from the tiny little stall and getting the yellow and white checkered rug on the floor, wet. Tonya continued to stand there though, only staring at him, chewing on her bottom lip in a way that had his insides turning, and not saying anything. "Tonya?"_

_ "Hmm?"_

_ "Is there a reason that you're only standing there, staring at me?"_

_ A light blush caressed the face that Draco had grown used to stealing glances at every chance he had, and he held back his chuckle when Tonya shifted all her weight from her left side to her right side. "You were talking again this morning," she told him. "And I could see you thinking really hard when I came home, just now."_

_ Draco frowned. "What was I saying this morning?"_

_ "It's not your fault, you know."_

_ If he hadn't seen her lips move, Draco wouldn't have been sure if Tonya really spoke or not, but she did speak and her words made his stomach drop. He felt like he was going to be sick. What did she hear? "I don't know what you're talking about," he said, not noticing that his fingers were now intertwined and twitching. "What's not my fault?"_

_ "Those people," she told him, still keeping her voice low but her eyes leveled with his. "The couple at that lake. It isn't your fault. There was a wand at your neck. If you didn't kill them, then you would've been killed too. Anyone would have done the same thing."_

_ Shaking his head, Draco tried to brush away the tears that were now falling. He didn't want to seem weak in front Tonya. He wanted to be strong for her… "Potter wouldn't have."_

_ "You aren't Harry Potter, you're Draco Malfoy."_

_ Draco lowered his head and stared at the puffy yellow comforter that Tonya allowed him to use. "I know."_

_ Ignoring the running water in the bathroom, Tonya walked across the room and knelt down in front of Draco, a motion that both were already familiar with. Reaching out, she grabbed his chin and lifted it, forcing him to look at her. Ignoring the tears that were visible for her to see, Tonya flashed him a genuine smile. "There's nothing shameful about being Draco Malfoy."_

_ "I should've let them kill me. That couple was only seventeen years old. They had so much more to live for."_

_ "And you were only sixteen years old; your father had been dragged off to that Azkaban place because of that thing that happened at the Ministry, and you were scared. You had to choose – your life or theirs. You chose, and now you get to live. You were younger than them Draco, you had so much to live for."_

_ "A brave person would have chosen their own death."_

_ Tonya sighed. "Would a coward have lied directly into the face of their deranged aunty in order to protect their enemy? Would a coward have returned to the final war, and killed off their own friends in order to protect their enemies – who at that time were trying to kill them, mind you? Would a coward have managed to disarm their headmaster, the most powerful wizard in the world, apologize and then still back down from killing them, even though your own death was the price for him living?"_

_ Draco just stared at her. He opened his mouth to bock her, but then he shut it. Thinking about what Tonya just told him, he opened it again. "You make it sound like I'm some sort of hero or something..."_

_ "That night at the lake you had a wand to your neck, and you made your decision – you chose to live. That night when you held your wand to the throat of Dumbledore, you had orders to kill him; if you didn't then you would have been the one who was killed. You lowered your wand, Draco, you couldn't do it. You chose your own death that night."_

_ "But I wasn't killed that night. I lived."_

_ "But you didn't know you would live. You thought you were going to die, and you still lowered your wand. You chose to protect him. Dumbledore was your first innocent," finally removing her hand from Draco's chin, Tonya ended up grabbing his hands instead, "If you let that couple live that night, they would have been killed anyways – you know that. You would have been killed, and they still would have died, but they probably would have been tortured before being murdered. You gave them a quick and painless death, and you lived. And because you lived, you saved Harry's life that day in the manor, you saved Ginny from Nott, you protected Luna from Parkinson, and you saved so much more people. If you were killed that night, Draco, then so many people would have died. Being a hero doesn't necessarily mean you have to be in the spotlight. Look at Peter Parker and Clark Kent; they let Spiderman and Superman take all the credit while they hide in the shadows. Sometimes the true hero remains hidden."_

_ Draco allowed everything to sink in for a couple of minutes, his hands still being held by Tonya. Slowly, a smile began to grace his lips and a huge weight fell off his shoulders. "Thank you, Tonya."_

_ Smiling, Tonya nodded her head then stood up. Releasing Draco's hands, she flattened her uniform, "Well, I'm going to shower now. All the hot waters probably run out already."_

_ "Tonya," Draco called out just as she reached the loo. Once Tonya turned back to him, he felt his cheeks heat up again while his head tilted just a little. "Who's Peter Parker and Clark Kent? And who the bloody hell is Spiderman and Superman?"_

_ Laughing, Tonya slightly shook her head, "Looks like we just found our movies for the night."_

For a shield from the storm,

For a friend, for a love

To keep me safe and warm,

I turn to you.

_ Lying on the couch, Draco listened to the thunderstorm going on right outside the flat that he had been living in for the past six weeks, twirling his mother's wand in his hands. For six weeks he had been living like a muggle: he cleaned like one, he brought food like one, he showered like one, he slept like one, and he even healed like one. He knew that could have given Tonya a list of things to buy from the store so he could make a healing potion and some healing salves then be healed up within only a day or two, but he didn't want to. The wand in his hands belonged to his mother, not him, and it knew that. The wand worked okay for him, and it followed his orders, but it just didn't feel right. And it wasn't only that, but for the first time in his eighteen years of living Draco Malfoy just didn't want to have to deal with magic. He liked living like a muggle. This felt right to him. A sudden snorting sound came from the floor below him, and Draco grinned to himself – yes, living like a muggle felt right to him, especially when he had Tonya Bruhn to help him with the process._

_ "Draco?" Draco stopped playing with the wand instantly, dropping it between the cushions. He heard Tonya softly call out to him again, "Draco, are you still up?"_

_ "Yes."_

_ There was a light shuffling sound and a heavy sigh then a pregnant pause of silence. Then… "Would you mind sleeping on the floor with me tonight?"_

_ Draco stopped breathing. Feeling as if holding in his breath would keep him from waking up from the first good dream since the final battle, Draco peeked over the couch. "Excuse me?"_

_ "I kind of don't like storms," Tonya said in a weak voice. "Please?"_

_ It was that bloody word again, that horrid word that Draco absolutely hated hearing from that beautiful mouth. Nodding his head, Draco tossed his two pillows onto the ground and with one quick motion he too, was soon lying on the ground. Almost instantly Tonya lifted the giant pink and white striped comforter that she was wrapped up in, and scooted closer to Draco, wrapping him up as well. Draco smiled to himself as he felt it again – that warmth that seemed to radiate off of Tonya no matter how freezing it was._

_ "What the hell?"_

_ "What?" Draco asked, feeling his eyelids starting to drop._

_ "Why aren't you wearing a shirt?"_

_ "I don't sleep in shirts."_

_ "You're freezing."_

_ "That happens when it storms."_

_ "You're making me cold. Warm up your chest."_

_ Opening only one eye, Draco looked down at the girl who was trying her hardest to cuddle with him, while trying to avoid his bare chest. "How is that even possible?"_

_ "I don't know, you're a wizard, figure something out."_

_ "You're wearing a jumper and long pants with fuzzy socks on your feet, Tonya, I'm sure that my chest won't make you cold."_

_ Tonya glared at him, "You feel like a freezer," when Draco made no sound to reply back, or no movements to warm himself up, Tonya muttered something under her breath about useless wizards, and turned her back to him. _

_ Trying his hardest to maintain a calm breathing process, Draco shut the one eye in content and allowed Tonya to make herself comfortable in his arms. Pressing his chest as tightly to her back as humanly possible without making their position awkward in any way, Draco heard himself sigh softly as his chin subconsciously made itself comfortable against Tonya's hair._

_ That was the first night in eighteen years that Tonya had been able to sleep through a thunderstorm, and the first night in six weeks that Draco didn't have dreams of Death Eaters._

For the strength to be strong,

For the will to carry on,

For everything you do,

For everything that's true,

I turn to you.

_ Two months, two whole bloody months since the war happened, and Draco was still living on the couch of Tonya's apartment or flat, whatever the hell it was. He's heard nothing from anyone back home, which he was grateful for because it meant that they couldn't find him, but it also meant that he didn't know anything about his parents or the rest of the Death Eaters. He didn't even know who survived the war. He remembered seeing the Weasley family crying over one of the twins, and he cried along with them even if they couldn't see him. It wasn't something that he would admit to anyone, but the Weasley twins helped him out through so much during his Death Eater days; their pranks were the only things that helped him to smile or even crack a laugh, no matter how small or soft they were. Seeing one of the Weasley twins, or any of the Weasleys at all, fall, was heartbreaking, even for him._

_ Draco was going insane without any news from the wizarding world. He needed to hear something, anything. Did Blaise survive, how about Finnigan – oh, Merlin, if Finnigan didn't make it, nobody would be able to comfort Blaise, because nobody knew about them. What about Granger? The last that Draco saw, Granger was in a duel with his aunt – no wait, Mrs. Weasley killed Bellatrix, and Granger was hugging Potter after he killed Voldemort. What about Parkinson, did anyone manage to kill that bitch? Was Brown alright – did Greyback manage to kill her or did he only scar her before Granger killed him? Draco found his thoughts even drifting to Longbottom – looks like the crazy old hat actually knew what it was doing when it put Longbottom in the house of the brave._

_ "You're doing it again."_

_ Draco didn't jump when he heard Tonya speak from behind him, because he knew she was there for the past five minutes just staring at him. How he knew she was there, he didn't know; he just did. "Doing what?"_

_ "Going into your weird little depression thing. Your face gets pale like that night that I found you and your eyes darken into a more liquid metal color while your eyebrows furrow. What are you thinking about?"_

_ Lifting his head up, Draco took in the long blue jeans and the red collared bowling shirt. "How do you do it?"_

_ Confused by the sudden change in conversation, Tonya sat at the table, across from Draco, and quirked an eyebrow. "How do I do what?"_

_ "After working your arse off for three years to help support your parents; once they won the lottery they just up and abandoned you. Instead of freaking out about it though, you just went out and you got yourself a flat. You haven't heard anything from or about your parents in a year, but you continue to just work two jobs and you don't let it consume you. How the bloody hell do you do it?"_

_ Shrugging her shoulders, Tonya began to tap her purple and pink painted nails on the table. "I think about them," she admitted with a reluctant tone in her voice that told Draco she didn't really feel like talking about her parents. "I miss them a lot, but what's done is done; I can't erase the past and claim back my childhood nor can I force my parents to love me. There's no sense in me thinking back on what could have been, because right now this is what's happening. They made their decision when they left me here, and you made your decision when you left the wizarding world. In the end you can only work harder to make a better future from a fucked up past."_

_ "I don't want to go back," Draco admitted, seeing the eighteen year old muggle girl who took him in, in a whole new light. "But I want to know what's going on. I mean I just up and left my mother back there, along with Blaise. I need to know if they're alright or if they're in Azkaban. I know that my father is, I mean, where else would Lucius Malfoy end up, but it's killing me to not know anything about my mum or about Blaise. Was Blaise perhaps killed in the battle, and if he was, who's going to comfort Finnigan? Nobody else knew about them, aside from me. Or what if Finnigan was one of the good guys who got killed, and Blaise is mourning him all on his own? Mother wasn't a Death Eater; she only went along with everything because Father said to, and because it's expected of her seeing as how she's a Black. I have no idea what the bloody hell is going on back there!"_

_ Three days later, Tonya returned back at the apartment with a long box under one arm and a wide grin on her face. Hearing his name being shouted, Draco emerged from the loo wearing only a towel around his waist with shaving cream on his face, and his mother's wand in his hand. His eyes landed on the now blushing girl wearing hot pink leggings and an oversized black t-shirt that was ripped and had slashes all through it. _

_ "Here you are!"_

_ Ignoring his lack of clothing, Draco walked over to her and cautiously held out a hand for the box. When he opened it his jaw dropped. "What?"_

_ Standing there with her hands clamped together and rocking on the heels of her feet, Tonya looked mixed between excited and nervous. "I remembered you telling me about the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron from muggle London, so I kept an eye out for any weird looking places like that in Stockton. There's an abandoned building over on Lodi by the old theater, and I sort of stalked it until I saw someone emerge from it. I sort of lied and told them that my sister is dating a wizard and she's gone into labor and I don't know exactly how to work the fireplace and his phone is off, and I need to get inside of the wizarding world so I could get to him. They were quick to let me in."_

_ Draco was positive that his jaw was actually on the floor, and he didn't pay any notice to the fact that the shaving cream was now dripping down onto his chest. He continued to just hold the now-opened box in his hands while staring at Tonya as if he's never met her before. "What?"_

_ Chewing on her bottom lip now, Tonya continued, "I landed inside of a bar, just like you said the Leaky Cauldron was, and the guy who let me inside took me over to the bartender who listened to my story with a remorseful look in his eyes, and he quickly led me to one of the mirrors that the bar was decorated with. Telling me that I wouldn't be able to go through myself, he grabbed onto my hand then said to hold my breath and follow him. After thanking the first guy who believed my story, I held my breath then stepped into the mirror next to him; it felt kind of like I was under water, which is why we had to hold our breaths, then the bartender pulled out his wand, and pointed it at this tiny little mouse hole. The mouse hole began to enlarge until soon all the water disappeared. Once all the water was gone it was weird because we were both dry, but then I noticed this door that wasn't really there before, and he pointed me to it, and told me to just walk through it then it would take me to Bridgewater Alley. And just like that I ended up in the alley."_

_ Draco was amazed. He was astounded at everything that Tonya told him in a very quick breath – Merlin, she was cute when she rambled on – but he couldn't find the correct way to explain his feelings to her. "What?"_

_ "It took a while," Tonya sighed now. "I walked around for nearly an hour, trying to look like I belonged in there, and I finally found it," pointing at the box in Draco's hand, she wore a tiny little smile on her face; an expression that Draco couldn't read. "Ten inches, Hawthorne wood and Unicorn hair core," she said in a low voice, "I remembered you telling me that. The Wandmaker looked at me funny and told me that only the Brits use Unicorn hair, but I quickly explained that my cousin escaped from the wizarding world due to the war because she's a muggle-born and has been hiding out with me for nearly a year. I told him that I accidentally broke her wand when I was cleaning the house and vacuumed over it. After shouting at me for an hour for being so stupid, he searched his supplies. It took another six hours, but here you go. Your own wand – just like the one that Harry won from you. I don't know if it will work the same seeing as how Harry won your last one, and I'm the one who brought it for you, but the Wandmaker said it should."_

_ Staring down at the familiar looking wand in the box and back at his mother's wand in his other hand, Draco could already feel the new wand calling out to him. This wand was made just for him; it came from Tonya's heart and was created with him in its mind. This is _his_ wand. This wand was the only one that would answer to him now, and the only one that he would command. It was this wand that granted him a little piece of home with him in America. "Thank you."_

_ Tonya nodded her head, understanding that Draco couldn't explain everything he wanted to in words. She could see it in his eyes, that he was extremely grateful, and it looked like he wanted to cry, but Tonya had more news for him. "The Wandmaker," she told him. "When I told him about my muggle-born cousin being on the run from the war; he told me to tell her that she could return home now. Voldemort has been killed by Harry Potter, and the Death Eaters have all been arrested."_

_ Draco's heart stopped, and he turned all his attention away from his new wand and onto the girl in front of him. He tried not to let the fear show in his eyes, but she's already seen him broken and near death, and she's already seen him crying over nightmares from his past, so what would it matter now if she saw him cowering in fear over the fate of his mother who he loved dearly, and his father who towards the end began to try his hardest to protect his son. He wanted to ask, but he didn't know how to. Luckily for him, Tonya seemed to be a mind-reader._

_ "Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy have been pardoned with the help of Harry Potter, and they're currently searching for their son Draco Malfoy, whom everyone believes to be dead," Draco's words got caught in his throat once again, and seeing that he needed to be alone for a while Tonya turned back towards the door, getting ready to leave once more. "Oh, and Draco-"_

_ Continuing to stare at her, he kept his mouth open as he spoke, "Yes?"_

_ "The Wandmaker also mentioned something about the news of Gryffindor Seamus Finnigan and Slytherin Blaise Zabini coming out of the closet, only one week after the war had ended. They're both currently taking a long vacation at one of the Zabini manors in Italy," after seeing the wide grin of relief take over Draco's face, Tonya reached out and gave his hand a quick squeeze of reassurance then turned and left._

When I lose the will to win,

I just reach for you

And I can reach the sky again.

I can do anything

'Cause your love is so amazing,

'Cause your love inspires me.

_ "Bloody shite!"_

_ "Is it supposed to do that?"_

_ "No, it's supposed to turn blue."_

_ "But it's pink?"_

_ "I can bloody well see that, can't I? I already said that it wasn't supposed to do that."_

_ "There's no need to take that tone with me. I was merely just pointing out that-"_

_ "-This is pointless. I'm never going to do it. Thanks for buying me the wand, Tonya, but it's just not working. I've lost my magic."_

_ It's been a week since Tonya brought the wand from Bridgewater Alley for Draco, and a total of nine weeks since he's performed any type of magic. After a lot of badgering from Tonya, Draco decided to finally give in and start using the wand. When he first pointed the wand at the telly to turn it on, nothing happened. He tried it again, and again nothing happened. Deciding to try something smaller, he casted a simple cooling spell, then a warming spell, then he tried to blow up the couch (which Tonya was quite glad to see didn't work), the water refused to boil in the pot, the lights wouldn't dim, the spoon didn't want to float, the cushion remained a cushion, and now his bloody hat went from its pearly white color to a glossy pink when he demanded it to turn blue. This was it, he had went so long without using his magic, that it up and abandoned him the way he abandoned his parents and Blaise._

_ "I'm pretty sure that a pureblooded wizard can't lose his magic after not using it for only nine weeks. You've just got to try harder."_

_ "If I try any harder my mind is going to explode."_

_ Tonya sat on the floor of the apartment, with her back against the door and her legs crossed in front of her. Draco couldn't help but to notice that the turquoise colored bangs hanging down the front of her face clashed with the soft, ocean blue of her eyes, or the way the neon purple strands in the white blonde hair looked more out of place than anything else. Tonya's hair was such an odd sight that Draco found himself smiling at the idea of it. "Let's take a break then. You've been at it for ten hours straight. We can order pizza?"_

_ "I'm sick of bloody pizza," Draco whined with a slight pout. _

_ Rolling her eyes, Tonya pulled herself up and walked over to him. "Look at you, Draco, you're pouting. It's ridiculous. Don't just give up because it's not working all of a sudden. Your magic is probably just taking a break like you were in the beginning. Your body has been so used to being quickly healed by magic that when it was forced to take a month's rest in order to heal properly, your magic probably thought that it was time to rest too. You haven't used any magic since the war, not even a simple spell, and it's been over two months. We'll take a break, eat something, then you can go right back to practicing."_

_ "What's the point of trying anymore?" Draco questioned, throwing his body down onto the couch, and burying his face in his hands. "I've been at it for ten hours straight, and the only progress I've made so far was by turning my hat pink when it was meant to become blue. Besides, it's not as if I'm going to have any need for magic anymore. I'm living as a muggle now, with no intention of returning back to the wizarding world – I've gone nine weeks without magic, and I can go another lifetime without it as well."_

_ Frowning, Tonya stood up and walked into the kitchen, leaving Draco alone to wallow in his own thoughts of self-pity. Even though he told Tonya that he was alright without his magic, and he _had_ just been thinking a couple of weeks ago of how much he wanted to live without magic and continue to live as a muggle, the wand pulsated in his hands, calling out to him to be used, and there was a slight pang in his chest as he thought of giving up the one thing that had always remained stable in his life._

_ Growing up, Draco watched as people came and went out of the manor, and he watched as his father went from a respectable Ministry worker to a feared Death Eater to a prisoner then a coward and finally an outcast. He watched as his mother went from a beautiful and loving wife and mother who spent all of her time with her family, to a hostess, to a victim, and finally an outcast. Draco watched his friends grow up from sniveling little spoiled children to slaves of a darkness that he himself had been a part of. He watched as his enemies went from an orphan, a blood-traitor, and a Mudblood to warriors who fought too many battles before coming of age, and heroes who saved the day at the end of the storybook. His friends became enemies, and his enemies became somewhat allies. There were too many changes in his life, and it got to the point where Draco couldn't find any sort of stability to keep him grounded – only his magic; his magic was the one thing he could always depend on._

_ Until now… now, his magic has disappeared just like the rest of his past._

_ "Oh god, you're brooding again. You know, you brood quite a lot."_

_ Lifting his head up, Draco turned to ask Tonya what she was talking about, but instead found himself staring at the grey and white feather in her hands. "Why are you holding a feather?"_

_ "I remembered you telling me that in your first year at Hogwarts, Professor Flitwick taught you guys a spell by using a feather. Maybe this will help."_

_ Watching as Tonya placed the feather onto the table in front of him, Draco found himself stunned by her once more. He knew by now that he shouldn't be shocked when she does these simple little notions that call out to him, but he couldn't help it – Tonya was simply just brilliant. "That's brilliant – Wingardium Leviosa!"_

_ Holding in her breath, Tonya released it then groaned when she saw that nothing happened. "I'm running down to Wong's Restaurant."_

_ Three days went by and the most Draco could do was levitate the feather for a couple of seconds before it gracefully floated back down. Draco was pale again like the first day that Tonya found him, and there were black bags beneath his eyes. Tonya had went back to sleeping in her own room because she couldn't sleep with Draco muttering spells all throughout the night, and she was reaching the boiling point where she was about ready to just set fire to that stupid feather. Groaning when the feather only twitched on the table this time, Draco got frustrated and threw his wand across the room. _

_ "I'm pretty sure that throwing the wand across the room won't get the feather to float."_

_ Looking up, Draco saw Tonya standing there with an amused look on her face and his wand in her hands. "I give up!" he exclaimed._

_ "It takes practice," she calmly reminded him. "You've been a wizard for eighteen years, Draco, I'm pretty sure that you won't lose all your magic after only nine weeks."_

_ "It's been nearly ten weeks," Draco corrected her._

_ "And yet it's still tiny in comparison to eighteen years."_

_ "I was seventeen when I stopped using all my magic," he reminded her, staring down at the flatt's floor. "The war ended on May second, and my birthday wasn't until the fifth of June. Technically I've only been using my magic for seventeen years."_

_ Tonya rolled her eyes at Draco's explanation, "I know when your birthday was," she told him. "I was here, remember… freshly healed ribs, slightly bruised scars, called in sick for work, Chinese food with pizza and Burger King, Adam Sandler marathon, chocolate red velvet cake and mango ice-cream? I know when you turned eighteen, Draco."_

_ "Then you know that I was a wizard for only seventeen years," Draco softly added, avoiding her piercing gaze._

_ Tonya crossed her arms over her chest. After ten seconds of saying nothing, she saw that Draco still refused to look at her. "Wingardium Leviosa!"_

_ Quickly snapping his eyes up at Tonya, Draco saw the muggle girl holding his wand in her hands and pointing it at the feather in front of him. He laughed when he heard her utter the levitation spell once more. "Tonya, what are you doing?"_

_ "I'm teaching myself to become a witch," Tonya replied in a huffy tone with an air of arrogance that once again had Draco thinking back to Hermione Granger._

_ "Were you born with magical powers, Tonya?" he asked her in an amused tone._

_ "No," she sniffed, "But I want to become one. I think being a witch would be cool. So I'm going to use your wand and teach myself how to be a witch."_

_ "You can't just suddenly become a witch after living eighteen years without any powers."_

_ Tonya only stared at Draco as if he were the stupidest thing that she had ever looked at. "But you can become a muggle after only seventeen years of living as a wizard? If you can suddenly become a muggle then I can suddenly become a witch."_

_ Draco blinked his eyes then stared hard into the passive eyes of Tonya. He tried to read her face to see if she was pulling his leg or yanking his arm or whatever it is that muggles say, but he couldn't see any emotions coming from her. "You are kidding, right?"_

_ "No," Tonya said, continuing to wave the wand around in the same way that she's witnessed Draco doing so these past days. "Wingardium Leviosa – oh look, I think that it moved this time!"_

_ Continuing to blink his eyes in pure shock, Draco turned his head slightly to the side and his body began to shake with his hidden laughter. "Fine," he said, finally standing up and walking over to Tonya. _

_ Tonya's body released a slight shiver when she felt Draco move behind her, wrapping his hand around hers, and tightening both their grips on the wand. "I get it. I can't suddenly just lose all my magic after being a wizard my whole life. I'm probably just rusty, and my wand can tell that I'm hesitant in casting a spell."_

_ Smiling to herself in proud content, Tonya could feel Draco's breath tickling her neck. "So, are you going to actually try and do something this time?"_

_ "Let's see," keeping his hand on Tonya's, he guided her wrist to do a swish and flicking movement while he uttered the words: "Wingardium Leviosa!"_

_ Draco's heart swelled up with pride as the feather in front of them began to float high up into the air, going wherever Tonya's hand told it to. Feeling the vibrations of Tonya's excited laughter moving against him, Draco felt a new sensation somewhere deep in his chest; pounding for exposure. Tilting his head so that he could get a better glimpse at the girl who was now laughing as she directed the wand in front of the window, Draco couldn't believe how important she was to him in only nine weeks' time. _

_ He depended on her._

And when I need a friend,

You're always on my side;

Giving me faith,

Taking me through the night.

_ Sitting on the floor of the apartment, Draco held his knees against his chest and continued to stare out the window, holding his wand tightly in his hands. It's been three months since he's been in America, and he had his magic back. The sky was dark outside, although he knew it was only five in the afternoon. After turning the telly on to the news, he knew that it was only a storm brewing, but memories of the war flooded his mind, and he grew worried. What if it wasn't just a storm coming? What if America had their own Dementors, and their own Dark Lord was starting to take over? Keeping his eyes closely on the sky he continued trying to see if he could spot the dark cloaks of death swooping over the neighborhood that he was currently living in._

_ "What are you doing home early?" Draco asked, hearing the flat door opening. "You're not supposed to get off of work for another three hours."_

_ "I saw the storm clouds," Tonya announced, stepping into the apartment and leaving the pink and white striped umbrella against the door. "Can you help me out with a quick drying spell? I got a hole in my stupid umbrella while running back from Lodi, and I'm soaked now."_

_ Turning away from the window, Draco felt his heart get caught in his throat at the sight in front of him: turquoise bangs clung to the now slightly pale face while pale blue lips chattered from the cold. Neon purple strands stuck out in every direction, dripping tiny water droplets onto the floor beneath Tonya's soaking body. He noticed that the waitressing uniform was nearly translucent now, and jealousy surged through his body as he thought that thousands of strangers had a glimpse at the leopard print bra that he could see right now. "Exaresco! – why were you in Lodi?"_

_ Sighing in relief at now being completely dry, Tonya moved over to where Draco was sitting, and she joined him. "I had a feeling that you would be thinking Dementors had somehow found their way to California," seeing the sudden blush take over Draco's now pink cheeks, Tonya wistfully chuckled. "I went back to Bridgewater Alley. The bartender, Mike, saw me standing outside the entrance way, and he allowed me inside. Asking me if everything was alright with my sister and the baby, and wanting to know if I found her wizard boyfriend in time the last time, he gave me some pumpkin juice – that stuff's really good by the way – and when I explained to him that I sort of lied the last time, because my muggle-born cousin was on the run and I accidentally broke her wand, he understood my need to have to be in the wizarding world the last time… to buy her a new wand."_

_ "What does that have to do with the Dementors?" Draco questioned; his mouth watering at the sound of pumpkin juice._

_ "Mike and I got to talking, and I told him how my cousin is still sort of scared to return to London, because she feels like she abandoned everyone who stayed back to fight. After an hour of talking I asked Mike if they had Dementors," seeing Draco's eyes bulging at the information, she reached out and grabbed his hand in a comforting way. "America doesn't have Dementors, Draco. The Dementors are a British thing. The American wizarding prisons have trolls and giants as guards. Mike told me to tell my cousin that she has nothing to worry about because the darkness in the skies is actually storm clouds, not Dementors working for a new Dark Lord."_

_ "You're sure?"_

_ Tonya nodded her head, "I asked him if they had any sorts of evil wizards trying to take over, and he said that over the years they get the occasional crazy person who thinks they're some sort of badass, but that it's never anything as serious as over in London. You have nothing to worry about, Draco, the Dementors aren't in California."_

_ Draco didn't know what to say. What could he say? Tonya saw dark storm clouds from her job, and she took off early just to question the American wizarding world about Dementors, just because she knew that he would be going insane with thinking the darkness was actually from the Dementors? Staring into the soft blue eyes, Draco saw something that he hadn't noticed before. When he looked into her eyes he saw the usual concern, fear; questioning look that her eyes always held for him, but now… now, he saw a look that nearly mirrored his own eyes. It was a look that showed something more than just concern – it showed compassion. There was no questioning gaze to those soft blue orbs – only passion. And there was no fear this time as she looked at him – it was love… only love._

_ "Thank you," he managed to mutter, turning away from the love in her eyes, in fear that he was misreading it. No – he was misreading it. How could someone as innocent, someone as pure, someone as simple, as kind, as warmhearted… how could someone like Tonya love someone like him? _

_ There was something different about the way Tonya smiled at him this time, it was like she wanted to say something; something that she was ashamed of, but she held it in and quickly removed her hand away from his. "You're welcome."_

_ There was an icy feeling where Tonya's hand just left his, and Draco felt confused. She usually left warmth, but now he was only cold. "Tonya-" she turned around to face him, and he could see the flittering light of hope in her eyes, "-really-" he told her, his voice dropping down so low that he doubted she could hear him, "-for everything you've done for me."_

_ "It's no problem," Tonya's voice was just as low as his had been, and Draco could have sworn that there was something off about her, but he pushed it aside as he watched her shut the loo's door behind her._

For a shield from the storm,

For a friend, for a love

To keep me safe and warm;

I turn to you.

For the strength to be strong,

For the will to carry on,

For everything you do,

For everything that's true;

I turn to you.

_Wiping his muddy feet off by the door, something that he never would have bothered doing if he were still living in the wizarding world, Draco looked around the flat and smiled when he saw Tonya curled up on the couch and fast asleep. Quietly shutting the door behind him, and quietly stepping out of his shoes, Draco made silent steps towards the tiny little kitchen area and placed the grocery bags onto the counter. It's been three months since he's been in America, and in all those twelve weeks he's been living in Tonya's flat for free. Not used to not having to pay for anything, and not used to not having the money to have to pay for anything, Draco felt guilty about everything, but he didn't know how he would be able to get to his Gringotts account without letting anyone know who he was, and he couldn't risk the few remaining Death Eaters or his parents know where he was staying._

_ After hours of countless thinking, and random ideas on how to achieve muggle money, Draco finally sat Tonya down, and told her his concerns – Draco Malfoy was broke, and he had no way to pay her back. After using a spell to shield himself away from the psychotic muggle girl who attempted to murder him for his apparent stupidity, Draco sighed with relief when Tonya calmly sat down, and told him that if he was 'so hell-bent' on repaying her he could do minor chores. So that's what he did. This was only his first day trying it out, but he already appreciated house-elves and muggles for their hard work. _

_ He never thought the day would come when Draco Malfoy would spend his morning in muggle basketball shorts and a tank-top while scrubbing the shower or toilet. Never in his wildest dreams, would Draco have pictured himself scrubbing windows and vacuuming. Even the girls from the bottom floor thought it was funny when he asked them for help with the washer and dryer. All his life Draco had depended on house-elves to clean everything for him, but now he was the one doing the house chores. He had no money on him in America, and there was no way to go to the American Gringotts without being noticed, so this was the only chance he had. Draco Malfoy would pay his debts by resembling an overly eager house-elf._

_ "Where were you?" Tonya yawned into her hand, sitting up on the couch when Draco dropped the gallon of milk onto his foot._

_ "I went to the store," he replied, biting down the string of curses that wanted to burst out because of the pain. Seeing the amused look on Tonya's face from the strain in his voice, Draco sighed. "I remembered you telling me that you put money on the counter before you left for work this morning. I was going to do the shopping earlier, but I decided to wash all the clothes and linens this morning, after scrubbing the flat. That took a long time so I only left two hours ago."_

_ "It took you two hours to go grocery shopping?"_

_ Ignoring the honey scented soap that was emanating from Tonya, Draco nodded his head. "I didn't know where everything was. The setup is different from British shops, and even then I've always had house-elves to do everything for me."_

_ Reaching into the bags to help Draco put everything away, Tonya lifted up a tiny little bear shaped bottle filled with thick golden sweetness. "You brought honey?"_

_ Turning away so that Tonya couldn't see the pink tinge taking over his cheeks, Draco buried his head into one of the bags, "I eat it with my toast," he quickly lied, wondering when he suddenly began to crave a food that he had never enjoyed before. _

_ Tonya helped him to put everything away, and Draco was proud of himself when she complimented him on his house cleaning skills, and his abilities to go shopping on his own and buy things that they actually needed. He quickly agreed with her though when she begged him to never touch the laundry again, and he could have sworn that he was in love when she surprised him with something of her own._

_ "I stopped at Bridgewater Alley again before I came home from work."_

_ Looking up from the plate of chicken and rice in front of him, Draco shook his head. "How the bloody hell did you get inside of it this time?"_

_ "Mike placed a simple spell on the door that allows me inside of his bar. I mean, I already know that it's there. He said that their Ministry allows it for muggles who aren't a threat to their world."_

_ Draco felt that familiar pang of jealousy in his chest as he listened to her talk about the American wizarding world bartender, Mike. "That was kind of him," he bit out._

_ Not hearing the sarcasm in Draco's tone, Tonya nodded her head and smiled. "Wasn't it? Well, anyways, I heard you muttering something about frogs in your sleep. So it dawned on me while I was working at the bowling alley, that you weren't thinking back on your potions lessons. You were dreaming about that candy thing that you told me about."_

_ With curious eyes, Draco watched as Tonya reached beneath the kitchen counter and pulled out an unfamiliar looking green colored paper bag. "What is that?" he asked her._

_ "Honeydukes is only in Hogsmeade," Tonya informed him. "But Bridgewater Alley has a candy shop called, Sweet Tastes, and they have some cool things in there as well. I figured that you must have been dreaming about Chocolate Frogs, but they don't have that. So I brought the closest thing I could think of that was somewhat similar to that," Draco watched as Tonya reached into the bag and pulled out a maroon colored box in the shape of a heart. "The worker told me that this is popular mostly around Valentine's Day, but it's the same as a Chocolate Frog, only it's a heart."_

_ Grabbing the box from a nervous looking Tonya, Draco read it and smiled. "A Chocolate Heart – feel the beating of love right in the palms of your hands."_

_ "It has its own card collection too, of famous witches and wizards from America," Tonya said, trying to hide her blush from him. "I brought you a couple. It's in the shape of a Valentine's Heart and it moves. Instead of jumping around like a Chocolate Frog would, it pulsates in your hands as if a heart would. When I showed it to Mike, he told me that it tastes just as if a Chocolate Frog would, and that you should enjoy it."_

_ A normal reaction would be to hug her – in a situation like this, the normal reaction from a normal person would be a thank you, a bear hug, and maybe even a kiss on the cheek depending on how close you were to the gift giver. All Draco could see though was the same girl drenched in rain kneeling over him and asking him if he could walk for just one more minute. Draco pictured the kind girl offering him a home to live in for free, sleeping on the floor just to protect him from his nightmares, and going out of her way to help him gain the courage to start performing magic once again. Draco was staring into the soft blue eyes of the very girl who listened to stories of him killing people, but didn't judge him. Draco didn't have a normal person reaction – his reaction was anything but normal. Staring into the soft blue eyes of the very girl who saved his life in more ways than just one, Draco lunged across the kitchen, pulled her into his arms, pressed his lips against hers while slamming her against the kitchen counter and pried her eager lips open with the tip of his tongue._

_ "I love you," he muttered into her mouth, enjoying the sensation of her fingers running through his hair._

For the arms to be my shelter

Through all the rain,

For truth that will never change,

For someone to lean on,

For a heart I can rely on through anything,

For that one who I can run to…

_His eyes were sticky from the tears that he cried in his sleep, and his chest was aching from all the regrets that he lived through, and there should have been a coldness in his veins – that icy feeling that all villains claim to feel – but there was warmth instead, warmth radiating from the arms that held tightly onto him, and warmth from the chest that was tightly pressed against his. Slowly opening his eyes, Draco was greeted by the sight of lightly tanned globes sticking out from the top of a pink tank-top. It's been two weeks since he practically assaulted Tonya in the kitchen, and two weeks since they've been dating. It was a quickly forced relationship that they both fell comfortably into, and it was a quickly rushed relationship that neither of them questioned. Tonya simply just brought him Chocolate Hearts, he kissed her, admitted his love for her, she kissed him back, while admitting her own love for him, and they started to date._

_ After three months of living together, and going through what they went through, they didn't feel as if it was too rushed. It didn't matter that they admitted their love for the other after only three months of knowing one another – they both loved each other, and that was all that mattered. After all, who could judge them other than themselves? Other than just them two, who else mattered? Grinning at the sight that he woke up to, Draco was about to grant them both a morning kiss but he felt a finger poke him in the ribs instead._

_ "Don't even think about it, Draco."_

_ Looking up, Draco saw Tonya's wide eyes staring down at him while her lips were curved into amusement. "I was only going to greet them good morning, love."_

_ Draco felt Tonya's body shudder against his, and he smirked up at her. She melted so easily when he called her that simple term of endearment, and he wondered how many times she had to fight back the urge to shudder before they started to date. "Morning greetings afterwards," she told him. "We need to talk first."_

_ We need to talk – four words that Draco never imagined would have the ability to make him want to cry. After all, he's a bloody Malfoy. And bloody Malfoys do not cry over four words; four words that had the power to end the entire world. "About what?"_

_ Seeming to sense the worry in Draco's voice, Tonya kept her arms tightly wound around Draco, but maneuvered herself so that they were now lying side by side so that their faces could meet. "You were dreaming again," she whispered. "I thought they stopped."_

_ "They did," Draco sighed. He was relieved that she only wanted to talk about his nightmares, and not break up with him, but he was also worried that she was now concerned about those blasted nightmares. "I hadn't had them in a month, but last night I dreamt of the war."_

_ A relieved look took over Tonya's face. "So they weren't memories this time – memories of when you were forced to kill?"_

_ "It was a mixture of both," he admitted. Tonya's relieved look quickly fell, and Draco was confused. He should be the one comforting her right now; trying his hardest to make her feel better, but it was the opposite. Instead of granting her a shoulder to cry on, he leaned on her. Tonya was his support, and he knew that he couldn't lie to her about his dreams. He could see how frightened she was for him, but he just couldn't bring himself to lie just to make her feel better. He just couldn't lie to her at all._

_ "What do you mean?"_

_ "Every time I would lift my wand to kill a Death Eater during the war their mask would drop, and instead of killing a Death Eater I killed an innocent; an innocent that I've already killed in the past. I had to keep killing them because if I didn't kill them then they would kill one of the Order members or one of the students who stayed back to fight. I didn't have a choice – I had to keep killing them."_

_ Nodding her head, Tonya pulled Draco in closer to her, and only then did he realize that she didn't sleep at all that night. Instead of sleeping, Tonya stayed up throughout the entire night, cradling him closely to her; trying to comfort him in his sleep. Usually her touch, and soft voice, would wake him up, but last night it didn't, and instead of giving up, Tonya stayed awake all night, watching him, holding him tightly in her arms, trying to protect him from his own memories, and shielding him as best she could._

_ All in all, Tonya was more than just Draco's support. He didn't only just depend on her – he straight up needed her. And it wasn't only a thing where he needed her until he got better – she was the reason that he was better. She found him when he was alone, and she fixed him up. She listened to him cry, and she comforted him. Going against everything that she was raised up to believe, Tonya accepted Draco's life, and she didn't judge it. Occasionally, she would ask him a question about it, but not once did she shy away from him in fear, and she always promised him that things would get better for him. Draco desperately wanted things to get better, but only if she were involved. Draco was better because Tonya not only helped him to get better, but because she believed in him. Draco not only fell madly in love with Tonya, but he suddenly couldn't remember a time in his life where he'd been happy that didn't involve her. Tonya promised him a better future, but the only future he could think of was one where she went from a Bruhn to a Malfoy and they raised a litter of little half-blood babies. Nothing else existed in his mind._

_ There was no future without Tonya in it._

For a shield from the storm,

For a friend, for a love

To keep me safe and warm;

I turn to you.

For the strength to be strong,

For the will to carry on,

For everything you do,

For everything that's true;

I turn to you.

_ "Let me guess," Draco muttered, looking up from the book that he was reading and staring at all of the scattered items in front of him. "You went back to Bridgewater Alley today?"_

_ Reaching over the coffee table, Tonya slapped Draco on the side of his head; hard enough to hurt her hand. "Ouch!"_

_ "Ouch?" Draco shouted questioningly, rubbing his head. "You whack me, and you shout ouch? Bloody hell, woman, it's my head that's got a lump on it now."_

_ Tonya glared at him, and Draco felt something inside of him. He hated to see her so pissed at him. "Well, your fat head bruised my hand."_

_ Sighing, Draco reached across the table and grabbed her hand. Grabbing his wand with his other hand, he muttered underneath his breath. "Better, love?"_

_ Pulling her hand away before Draco had a chance to make sure the forming bruise was gone, Tonya frowned at him. How dare he heal her hand while she was in the middle of scolding him! "You bastard, Draco Lucius Malfoy."_

_ Already regretting telling Tonya his full name, and the story behind it, Draco flinched at the disappointment in her voice. "What did I do, love?"_

_ "Don't you 'love' me?" she scowled. "You know damn well what you did. How long have you been casting that damn silencing spell while we sleep?" guilt flooded Draco's face, and he suddenly understood why she was shouting at him. A week after the nightmares started up again, he couldn't stand to see Tonya looking so tired every morning because of him, so he started to cast the spells. "How long, Draco?"_

_ "Three weeks," he sighed._

_ "Three weeks – three weeks! Three fucking weeks!" Draco continued to sit there, nodding his head, and wondering how she discovered that he's been using a spell. "I woke up to pee last night, and I saw you screaming in your sleep. It was weird, because I couldn't hear you, but I could see you screaming out for help. Damn you, Draco. I thought you were getting better, but you've only been tricking me."_

_ "I didn't want you to keep waking up every time," he told her, not regretting his choice to hide this from her. At least she was able to sleep for three weeks._

_ Tonya lowered her voice, but her disappointment was still on her face. "I went to Bridgewater Alley today," she told him, pointing at everything on the table. "I need to be at work in fifteen minutes, and I'm already running late, but these are ingredients for a dreamless potion. Mike left the bar and helped me to shop. I told him that my cousin is still scared to return back to London and that she's starting to get nightmares from when she was tortured right before she escaped to here. There's a cauldron, and a book on how to make it, plus everything else you would need. You're lucky I need to work today, or else I would kill you."_

_ Draco was confused again. Tonya went back to the wizarding world just to buy him ingredients to help him sleep without any nightmares? Too scared to say anything to his girlfriend of five weeks he only nodded his head at her, and didn't make any movements until she left the flat. Slowly standing up once he was sure she was already in the elevator; Draco reached out and began to pick at everything. When he questioned her about it the day that she came home with the Chocolate Hearts, Tonya admitted that she's been exchanging muggle money with wizarding money with Mike, and that he was helping her to understand certain wizarding terms they use, but Draco still didn't understand it. Why was she going out of her way to help him out with all of this?_

For a shield from the storm,

For a friend, for a love

To keep me safe and warm;

I turn to you.

_ "Did you get more of the Chocolate Hearts?"_

_ "Yes, babe. I put them on the counter at home."_

_ Grinning, Draco leaned closer to Tonya and gently kissed her lips. "Go get us a table, love, and I'll order our drinks."_

_ Smiling to himself as he watched Tonya choose a six seated table, Draco ordered their coffees from their usual cashier, and he waited until Billy called out his name. Walking over to the table with their two drinks, Draco sat next to Tonya and placed hers in front of her. It's been three months since they started dating, but everything with them was already a happy routine that neither of them broke, but never truly followed either. He still didn't work, and he still did the minor chores around the flat, but not once had Tonya ever complained to him about it. He didn't want to live like that anymore, he wanted to start being able to pay for things with his own money, which is why they were here today._

_ "Did you talk to Mike?"_

_ Playing with the whipped cream in the cup with her straw, Tonya rolled her eyes. "Wasn't me talking to Mike the whole point of me going into Bridgewater Alley today? Or was I supposed to go just for the Chocolate Hearts?"_

_ "Don't pretend like you don't have a pack of Honey-flavored-Sugar-Wands in your purse," Draco said smugly. When Tonya moved her purse further away from him, Draco chuckled. "That's what I thought."_

_ "Do you want to know what Mike said or not?" Tonya asked, rolling her eyes. Draco nodded his head and she continued, "He said that the Gringotts here is pretty much the same as the one in London. All you need to do is prove who you are, and the goblins will let you inside your vault. And just like all other goblins they don't gossip, so it wouldn't matter if you're on the run or not. No one will ever find out that you're in America."_

_ Thinking about it, Draco cocked an eyebrow, "So I could walk right into the American Gringotts right now, and take out my money and they would exchange it into American muggle money for me without questioning it, and my parents would never find out?"_

_ "You're an adult, so the goblins are no longer obligated to inform your parents of your whereabouts if they were to notice that some of the money was taken out."_

_ "I have my own vault," Draco shook his head, "So they shouldn't notice anything was taken out to begin with," then he grinned. "Do you know what this means, love?"_

_ "You get to go with me to Bridgewater Alley from now on," Tonya teased him, already knowing what he was about to say._

_ Rolling his eyes, Draco took a long sip from his coffee, "This means we're rich. You can quit both of your jobs now."_

_ Tonya narrowed her eyes at him, but because they were in a public place (which is why Draco chose the coffee shop to bring it up) she didn't mention anything about her jobs. "I have a feeling that Mike knows who you are by now," she told him. "He still mentions the Malfoys and Zabinis every once in a while, and he sort of just smirks when I mention my muggle-born cousin. He didn't say anything about it, but I think he pieced everything together and figured it out."_

_ "Do you think he'll turn me in?"_

_ Tonya shook her head, "He doesn't seem to care, and I don't think he's the only one who knows it either. The owner of Sweet Tastes loves me, and she was telling me that Draco Malfoy is still missing and that the article mentioned something about him always having a sweet tooth for Pepper Imps, then she gave me a box of Pepper Imps for free and winked at me."_

_ Draco's jaw dropped. "The American sweet shop has Pepper Imps?"_

_ "No," Tonya said, "That's the thing. She had it specially ordered for my 'muggle-born cousin' who must be missing British candies. And then there's the Apothecary shop owner that told me to remind my 'cousin' that the dreamless potion will only work for so long, but that soon your blood stream will grow immune to it, and the nightmares will return after a while."_

_ "That doesn't sound suspicious," Draco frowned._

_ "And that it usually lasts for only five months with purebloods."_

_ "But you told them that your cousin is muggle-born," Draco frowned again. He didn't like the idea of all these American witches and wizards knowing that Draco Malfoy was hiding out amongst them._

_ "Exactly," reaching her hand out, Tonya grabbed his. "They don't seem to mind, and I trust that they won't turn you in. I think that they all fell in love with me that's why," she teased with a smirk, "And they just want me to be happy, so they're all trying to help you out. The Apothecary owner is even willing to sell me an already brewed polyjuice potion so my 'cousin' can enjoy the wizarding world without worrying about being spotted by anyone. He's willing to sell it for only five galleons."_

_ Draco's jaw dropped. "An already brewed polyjuice potion is illegal to be sold in shops, and even then the black market shops sell it for at least one hundred."_

_ "Like I said," Tonya shrugged her shoulders. "They love me." _

_ Drinking his coffee and watching Tonya drink hers, Draco rubbed his face. People knew where he was. People from the wizarding world knew where he was. At least it wasn't people that were from the same country as him, and they did seem to want to help him out, but what if they didn't? What if one of them has a relative in the Order or tells someone in secrecy, but then that person decides to announce it to the wizarding community that Draco Malfoy is hiding out in muggle America? Looking over at Tonya, Draco sighed. She trusted them, and he trusted her. There was no sense in worrying about it, because that would only annoy Tonya. She practically turned Bridgewater Alley into her second home, and she would only become agitated with his doubts._

_ Draco didn't trust people the way that Tonya did, but then again, she only trusted people if they proved themselves worthy enough to be trusted. Maybe it was time to start doing that too. After all, he was trying to push away the old Draco, and it was the old Draco who doubted everything and everyone. Grinning into his coffee cup as Tonya began to talk all about a cute little ginger cat in the wizarding pet shop, Draco realized that he liked having someone to trust._

For the strength to be strong,

For the will to carry on,

For everything you do,

For everything that's true;

I turn to you.

_ "Draco," she giggled. They were sitting against each other at a little table in a coffee shop. His fingers were gently circling her knee, occasionally pinching it every now and then. "Draco, stop that!"_

_Grinning against his girlfriend's ear, Draco whispered, knowing how much his breath usually caused bumps to take over her skin. "If you want me to stop then why are you giggling?" this time was no different. A smug grin took over his ghostly pale skin as he felt her body shiver under his fingertips._

_ "We are in a coffee shop," she reminded him, trying to ignore the flame burning in the pit of her stomach at the movements. _

_ "I know, love!"_

_ "Draco!" she hissed at him. He was being really unfair right now. He already knew she had a weakness for his British accent; which she was so fond of, that she would ask him to talk to her until she fell asleep. But for him to call her _love_; something she knew all British guys called their girlfriends, but found the way he used it to set her insides into a complete meltdown mode – this just wasn't fair._

_ "Fine," he chuckled, knowing the effect his pet name for her had. "Fine alright Tonya. You win! I won't caress you under the table in a public coffee shop."_

_ Eyeing him suspiciously, Tonya simply just picked up her iced vanilla latte, and nodded her head. "Thank you."_

_ Draco couldn't help but to grin at her. When they first met, he had appeared out of nowhere near his death, and she turned the corner. Freaking out, like she tends to do a lot, she tried to call for help, but he stopped her. He didn't want the muggle police to find him in such a state. They would want to know his name, and he was too weak to confound anyone. So instead she took him back to her apartment, and tried her best to heal him on her own. It took a whole month for him to heal, and another two months for him to admit how much he loved her. She was different the muggle-borns he was forced to go to school with. She didn't judge him for being a Death Eater; even after he explained what that was to her, and she didn't turn him away for being a Malfoy. He told her about everything he and his family had done, but she still loved him back._

_ Now here they were six months after meeting. Neither of them had any idea that in exactly four months from now, they would be married. Something neither of them would ever regret. Soft blue eyes met icy grey. He always teased her that her eyes made her look like she was always lost in a day dream somewhere, but she always only smiled, kissed him softly, and told him that she prayed she never woke up. She was nothing like the girls his mother had always wanted him to be with. Or his father. Both his parents wanted him to marry Pansy Parkinson, but three quarters of Hogwarts had her. Not to mention, she resembled a pig nosed pug; reminding him of an ugly mutt that walked into a door, smashing up its face._

_ Tonya was different in her own sense. Her hair was naturally supposed to be black, but like most muggle girls, she put in streaks of different colors. Whereas most girls added in streaks of gold she added in gold, white, caramel, and teal. It was the teal that always threw him off. Whereas most muggles with her hair style – the odd colors, and reaching just below her shoulders – would have more than one piercing, she simply enjoyed having just one tiny sun yellow diamond in each ear. She did however fancy other parts of her body to be pierced, such as: a tiny hoop in her nose, a ball in her tongue, and a simple diamond in her navel. Sitting on her lower stomach, she had the muggle Hello Kitty icon, along with a couple of stars right behind her right ear. She preferred comfortable clothing to what society would prefer a young beautiful girl her age to wear. Such as today, she wore simple black colored rubber slippers, simple blue jean shorts, and a simple plain black t-shirt; his t-shirt nonetheless. She was the simplest girl he had ever met, but she was nothing near just simple. He was a Malfoy, and Malfoys didn't fall in love with simple._

_ "What are you thinking of?" the soft yet silky voice entered his mind, pulling Draco out of what he knew would be another mind battle against himself._

_ Smiling, he placed his lips on the deep sunken in dimples that laughed at the corner of her mouth. "How much I love you."_

_ Blushing, Tonya felt the butterflies in her stomach trying to force their way out of her stomach, so they could kiss the handsome British wizard she loved so much. "I love you too."_

_ At eighteen years old you shouldn't know what love is, especially when you've only known them for six months. Even more so when you meet them right after they tried to kill thousands of people, or were currently in hiding from their ex-friends who wanted to kill them for betraying a psychotic dark wizard who was now supposed to be dead. Love wasn't a word you should speak, or a feeling you should know. Love shouldn't be a thought that haunts your every breath. When you're eighteen years old, love shouldn't even be in your vocabulary. But she loved him. With everything she had to offer, which of course wasn't much._

_ After she got to know Draco she learned that he was very wealthy; one of the richest wizarding families in the entire wizarding world. It shamed her. Not just in the beginning, but even now. She didn't have as much as he did. Draco grew up in a mansion, and she grew up in a tiny two bedroom house. Draco had money thrown at him to grant his every wish from the day he was born, and she's been working from when she was only fourteen, just to help her parents pay the bills. Draco would never have to work a day in his life, and she was working two jobs. Malfoy Manor would be his once his parents died, and she was living in a rented tiny rundown, broken one bedroom apartment, with water that was never hot, and lights that always flickered. Draco had everything in the world, and she had nothing to give him. Besides her love._

_ All her life, Tonya had been known as the girl who couldn't keep a relationship – or even a guy in general. They would always get what they want from her then leave the next morning. From what Draco told her, he was also that type of guy. Not the one who would be left of course, but the guy who would take what he wants then forget the girls' names the next morning. In the beginning she was scared that he would do that to her. Her heart felt funny the night she found him bleeding on the streets; a feeling she had never known before, and she was scared that he would take what he wanted from her then leave. But it never happened. He took what he wanted every morning, and every night. And occasionally every moment in between, but not once had he left her. In the nights she would always be too nervous to wake up the next morning, fearing that he would be gone. But once her sleep leaves her, she would feel his arms wrapped tightly around her before her eyes even fluttered open. And he's always smiling down at her, telling her how much he loves her peaceful state when she's asleep. He continues to remind her how much he could just hold her in his arms, and watch her sleep for eternity. Some nights he doesn't sleep at all; he just watches her. It was hard to believe that he loved her as much as she loved him. Especially since they've only known each other for six simple months._

_ And it didn't help that Draco Malfoy was anything but simple. He was the type she never saw herself with for so long; the bad boy type with the bad reputation. But unlike all the bad boys she had ever known, he was more pure. Minus, of course, the people he had killed, the curses he had flown, and the things he had seen, and done, but other than that… he was pure. His virgin ears remained untouched, while his snow white hair hung over his eyes – she often teased Draco that it was his hair that made him seem dangerous. When he threatened to cut it though, she immediately stopped. Tonya loved running her fingers through his hair, and watching the way his lips would part as she did so. He claimed that only she could take his breath away with such a simple touch. His skin was as pale as a ghost; although she had never really seen a ghost, and couldn't compare it, he promised her that the ghosts he knew were almost the same color as him; pale to the point of being practically translucent. His eyes were no longer sunken in, so his pointed face stood out beautifully in a crowd. Because he was no longer living in the wizarding world, and she had assured him that she loved his death mark so he didn't have to hide it anymore, Draco would always wear short sleeved shirts, hugging his chest tightly to show off the eight creases hidden beneath it, along with his bulging muscles. He played something called Quidditch, which had helped with that – something Tonya thanked god for every day. His death mark was simply passed off as a tattoo, and a very hot, dangerous tattoo at that. On the inside of his left forearm he had an upside down snake, curled into itself with a skull as its tail. _

_ "You're staring again," Draco teased her._

_ Grinning, Tonya wouldn't allow herself to be embarrassed for being caught staring. "Well it's mine to stare at."_

_ Chuckling, Draco shook his head knowing full and well what his flying hair was doing to his girlfriend. She actually cried when he threatened to cut his hair. Her obsession was guys with long hair. "And you get all pissy with me whenever I say that you belong to-" he cut off._

_ Seeing the fear in his eyes, Tonya turned around; curious as to what could scare Draco Malfoy. "What is it babe?" she asked him._

_ His eyes landed on them; four of them. What the bloody hell are they doing here? Their eyes stayed focused on him as well, just as confused as he was. Possibly even more so… he could practically read their minds… what the bloody hell is Draco Malfoy doing in California, sitting in a muggle coffee shop, linking his fingers in with a muggle? Nervously glancing over at Tonya, he saw she was quick to recognize the four of them. He had to chuckle at that. He's described them to her only once, although he spoke of them a lot in his stories of his past. She was always reminding him of Granger in a way though; in a smart-bookish type of way._

_ Tonya instantly recognized who they were. Why Draco feared them right now… she was confused. But she knew who they were. Emerald eyes behind circled glasses, unruly ebony hair, a lightning bolt scar on his forehead; Harry Potter. Ocean blue eyes, copper hair, freckles; Ron Weasley. Caramel eyes, curled caramel hair; Hermione Granger. Cinnamon hair, sky blue eyes, freckles; Ginny Weasley. She saw that Harry and Ginny were holding hands; while Hermione and Ron did the same. _

_ "Is that… is that Malfoy?" choked out Ron._

_ Nodding her head, Ginny started walking over towards them. "Let's say hi."_

_ "Ginny," Harry yanked her back. "What are you doing?"_

_ "What?" she asked, pulling her hand away from Harry's before rolling her eyes, "Oh c'mon you guys. The war is over, and he helped us in the end… remember?"_

_ "What are they doing?" his voice came out more in a squeak then he had planned it to._

_ Gently nudging his leg with her own leg, Tonya gave Draco a stern look, "Be nice Draco."_

_ "Hullo Malfoy," Ginny smiled politely as she approached them._

_ Scared to disobey his muggle girlfriend, Draco politely nodded his head, and smiled back. Yes; smiled. Not smirked. "Weasley," then nodding his head over at the golden trio who looked as if they were waiting for him to do something illegal, he smiled again, "Potter, Granger, Weasley."_

_ "Granger?" Hermione choked out in shock. He wasn't calling her Mudblood?_

_ Noting the fear in Hermione's eyes, Tonya's own eyes moved over to the girl's forearm. The words that Draco's psychotic aunt, Bellatrix Lestrange, carved into her were still there. "Would you guys like to sit with us?" she offered, quickly moving her eyes away._

_ "Thank you," Ginny beamed, instantly taking the seat nearest to the kind girl who just offered them to sit. "I'm Ginny Weasley by the way."_

_ "Oh," Draco said, remembering that they had no idea who the American girl holding his hand was. "Right, sorry. This is Tonya Bruhn. Love, this is Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger."_

_ "You're American," Hermione noted, taking the seat next to Ginny; leaving Harry and Ron to figure out which one of them would sit next to Draco._

_ "Yep," Tonya grinned, nodding her head. "Born and raised in California all my life. What brings you four to America?" she decided to ask. _

_ There was suddenly a tension in the air as the four friends began to sort of shift around, unsure of what to say. "Well…" Harry spoke up, taking his role as leader, "We… umm… well see I'm a cop like, and well…"_

_ "Cop?" she cocked a confused eyebrow. "Oh! You mean you're an Auror?"_

_ Turning a bright shade of red, Harry nodded his head, "Yes."_

_ "You know of Aurors?" Hermione gasped then turned to Draco. "You told her about our world?"_

_ "She found me after the war," Draco nodded his head, already not liking where this was going._

_ "Babe," Tonya said, turning all her attention onto Draco, "Since they're still new to here, why don't you go up and order them some drinks?"_

_ Nodding his head, Draco jumped to his feet, "Anything specific?"_

_ Shocked that Malfoy was taking orders from a muggle without any hesitation, nobody said anything for a couple of moments. Finally, Ginny spoke up. "I'll go with you."_

_ "Gin!" Harry gave her a hard glare._

_ Rolling her eyes, Ginny kissed her boyfriend's cheek. "I'll be fine."_

_ Tonya gave Draco a head nod when he gave her a nervous glance. She wanted him to know that everything would be okay. After sighing, he allowed Ginny to link arms with him; confusing the golden trio, and himself, but he allowed it, and led her up to the line. Tonya looked around the table, and sighed at the scared glances the trio kept shooting at Draco and Ginny. She instantly liked Ginny; she was quick to accept the new Draco, before she even met him, but these three didn't even bother to hide their fear._

_ "He's not the same Draco," she said, breaking the awkward silence. "He told me everything. I'm sorry for your losses by the way."_

_ "Thanks," said a glum Ron. _

_ "What do you mean he told you everything?" asked Harry._

_ It was Hermione who asked, "What did he mean when he said you found him?"_

_ "The day of the war," she started to explain. "I was walking home from work, and I heard this weird crackling sound. When I turned the corner I saw him lying there. He was almost dead-" shaking her head as the images returned, they all saw the way she winced as if in pain, "-Anyways, I found him right after the war. I took him home, and tried to clean him up. He refused to go to a hospital. Over the month of him healing, he would tell me about his life: being a Malfoy, being the son of a Death Eater, being a Death Eater, being a pureblood, the expected hatred towards muggles, and everything in between. He explained about Voldemort-" she saw the way they all flinched when she mentioned his name. Weren't they supposed to be the ones who never feared him? "And everything else. I know everything."_

_ "So you know what he's done then?" questioned a confused Harry. This girl spoke like their world was nothing. Like Malfoy being a Malfoy was okay to her._

_ Nodding her head, Tonya took a sip of her drink, "Every torturing curse he's ever casted, every dark thought he's ever thought, every bad word he's ever spoken, every hex he ever flew, every person he's tormented, and everything else. I know it all."_

_ "And… and you're okay with it?" Hermione couldn't believe what she was hearing._

_ Tonya sighed now. "Do I look like a witch? Do I look like I have a wand on me? Do I look like some American version of a Death Eater?"_

_ "Err no."_

_ "N-no."_

_ "Absolutely not."_

_ "If Draco wasn't one of the good guys, would he be sitting in an American coffee shop with me right now? Let alone an American muggle coffee shop? Drinking coffee? Holding my hand? Laughing? And would he have been so quick to jump to his feet and buy you guys a coffee or accept Ginny's arm? If he was the same Draco you guys remembered, would he be smiling right now?"_

_ "I like her," Ginny smiled at Draco. She linked her arm in with his out of habit; something she always did with one of her own friends. She hadn't meant to do it, but once she did she expected him to shove her off of him. He shocked her when he accepted it though, and walked on as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Your girlfriend, I like her. How long have you two been together?"_

_ "Umm we've known each other for six months, but we've been dating for three."_

_ "Well I like her."_

_ "Thanks."_

_ Peeking over at his face, she saw him smile again. "Why didn't you ever do that in school?" she asked him. _

_ "Do what?" Draco was confused. Then again the youngest Weasley always reminded him of a more vicious version of Luna Lovegood._

_ Chuckling, Ginny bared her teeth at him in an extremely wide grin, "Smile. You always had that smirk thing going, or a grunt. I've never seen you smile. Or laugh actually."_

_ "Oh," shrugging his shoulders, he watched the line shorten. There was only one person in front of them now. "I guess I never really had a reason to smile before."_

_ Nodding her head, Ginny understood what he meant. Well not really, she's always had a reason to smile, but she knew what he was implying. "I never got to thank you by the way."_

_ "For what?"_

_ "The war."_

_ Stepping up to the counter, Draco gave Ginny an odd look. She couldn't have possibly known… could she? He made sure that nobody saw him return. "What do you guys like to drink?" he asked her._

_ "Ron and Harry will only drink black coffee," Ginny shuddered as if the thought offended her, "And Hermione and I aren't picky. As long as it's not black, and it's coffee."_

_ Chuckling, he nodded his head. Smiling up at the barista, Draco ordered the drinks. "Can I get two black coffees, and two iced vanilla lattes?"_

_ Looking past Draco, and at the table that Tonya was now laughing at with the golden trio, the brown eyed teenager grinned. "Tonya looks like she's getting comfortable, Draco. You sure you don't want to get her one more as well?"_

_ "True," he said, not even bothering to think about it. Her coffee had almost been empty to begin with. "Might as well make that three, then."_

_ "And you want your regular as well?"_

_ "Thanks Billy," Draco grinned. Throwing the American money down on the counter, he led Ginny towards the corner, where they would now wait for their drinks._

_ "You come here a lot do you?" Ginny had never been so amazed before in her life. The guy behind the counter knew Draco's name, and Tonya's; it seemed almost like they came here all the time. He knew what they liked to drink._

_ Nodding his head, Draco smirked. "Every bloody day; coffee is her addiction. Now about the war… what did I do?"_

_ "I saw you," she rolled her eyes. "After you guys ran away. Everyone was shouting about how the Malfoys ran out during the battle – once Harry revealed himself to be alive – which is really smart on Narcissa's part, especially since she lied about Harry being dead. The Death Eaters were searching for you three to kill. But then I saw you. Just as Nott was about to kill me, you killed him."_

_ What did she just say? "What did you just say? My mum lied to Voldemort about Potter being dead? When did that happen?"_

_ "When Harry gave himself up to Voldemort," Ginny's eyes went wide. "You didn't know?"_

_ Shaking his head, Draco rubbed his forehead. "Once we returned back to the manor, I left and went back. It didn't feel right… leaving everyone behind. I had to do something. They didn't even know that I left. Once Voldemort was dead though, I left for good. I haven't seen anyone since, including my parents. I didn't know she lied for Potter. Is that why Voldemort thought Potter was dead when he returned to the school?"_

_ "She lied for you," Ginny explained to him. She pitied him now. He didn't speak to his parents? He came straight to America right after the war? No wonder everyone thought he was dead. "Voldemort did kill Harry, but he came back to life – it's complicated, please don't make me explain – then Narcissa volunteered to check on him. She saw that Harry was still alive, and whispered to him. She asked if you were still alive, and he told her yes. He just saved you in the Room of Requirements by the way. So she lied to Voldemort, and told him that Harry was dead. She switched sides right then."_

_ "She what?" his eyes were huge. Narcissa Malfoy? His mum? She was on the lights' side? _

_ "It spared her from going to Azkaban," Ginny continued on, saddened by the idea of never really knowing your parents. "Harry vouched for her. Lucius was spared too. Something about him saving McGonagall-" when she saw Draco begin to choke on air, she shook her head, "- don't ask. But yeah, your parents are out. We all thought you died, to tell the truth. You disappeared, and when nobody could find you for four months, everyone just thought the worst. Both your mum and dad are going crazy, you know. They still ask for help in searching for you every now and then."_

_ Draco's eyes didn't even water. He missed his parents. Both of them actually; he really did, but he was happy now - something he had never been in all his eighteen years of living with his parents or being at Hogwarts. "They wouldn't approve of Tonya," he shook his head. "I'm fine now."_

I turn to you!

**A/N: I got the idea for Bridgewater Alley because my aunty them live in Bridgewater Circle in Stockton and it was the only street name I could think of. In Oahu we have street names like: Kalama, Hui'iwa, Ahuimanu, Lekeona, Rosa, Kanoa, Leilani, Keaniani, Kaiona, Oneawa… and such names like those, and I doubt that the American Wizarding World in California would have Hawaiian names… **

**I've made this chapter very long (33 pages long) and I hope that it was up to what you guys were expecting, and very much worth the long wait(: - I thought that I only made it 22 pages long, but I guess not. So erm… yeah… what do you guys think of it? This is officially my longest chapter ever for ANY story I've ever written, and it's based on a song and it's also based on 'memories' from Draco. **

**Review please(:**


	19. More Than A Name

More Than A Name

"We're screwed," Bill grumbled, entering the living room and throwing himself down onto the couch. Tonya and Fred looked up from the game of Wizard's Chess that they were playing, and George looked up from his own game of Exploding Snaps with Charlie. Remus and Sirius were both also sitting down on the couch. When he saw everyone staring at him, Bill sighed. "I was out last night with Fluer, and-"

"We don't need to know what happens when a boy and girl falls in love," George rolled his eyes.

Fred nodded his head in agreement with his twin, and pointed at Tonya. "I think we all know what happens already."

Smirking when Tonya whacked Fred in the face with a couch pillow, Sirius looked back at Bill. "What happened?"

"Eww," Fred groaned, "I don't want to know."

"Shut up," Bill told his younger brother, before scratching at his chin. "Fleur and I were talking last night, and we both realized something."

"What is it?" Remus asked.

"The Lestrange vault is one of the higher ended vaults – we need an actual goblin to open it up for us."

Everyone turned to look at Tonya, and she paled. How could they have forgotten the most important thing about the Gringotts break in? Harry made it known how many times that they needed a goblin in order to get into the vault, and that they couldn't use Griphook because he's lost his place in the bank. The only way they would actually be able to sneak into the vault now was by getting an actual goblin to help them out. They were screwed – the goblins didn't care about the upcoming war; nor did they like involving themselves with wizards. They needed a new plan… again!

Draco walked into the Room of Requirements, and found himself greeted with the usual group of McGonagall, Snape, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Ron, Luna, Neville, Seamus, Luna, and Blaise. But this time they weren't alone. He saw that they had Professor Lupin with them as well. They all stopped talking when they saw him walk in, and he saw the confused look that Remus had on his face when he noticed him. With a quick look from McGonagall though, Remus sighed and lowered himself deeper into the chair that he was sitting on.

"So, I take that you know then, Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco nodded his head and sat down between Hermione and Neville as if they've been the best of friends for all their lives. "I've been having odd dreams ever since I ran into Tonya in Diagon Alley that one day. A Week ago though, it sort of got out that I knew a little bit about what was going on – that was when everyone filled me in on what they knew."

Remus sighed, and rubbed his forehead. "Who else knows that Draco knows?"

"Only everyone here," Snape assured him. "Minerva and I thought it would be best that no one else finds out, lest it should get it back to Tonya."

"Good," Remus agreed. "She doesn't need any more stress right now."

"What happened?" Draco suddenly asked, feeling anxious and nervous. "Is she alright? What about the baby?"

From the corner of his eyes, Remus saw the pained way that all the females stared at Draco, and he realized that Draco must have really been dreaming about the future – it almost seemed like his love for Tonya and his concern for the unborn child was genuine. "The baby is fine," he assured him. "For now at least, until she returns back to her own time, but that is neither here nor there. What I'm talking about is the task at hand."

Seeing Draco's confusion, Harry said, "Bill met up with Fleur last night, and they seemed to realize that the Lestrange vault needs a goblin in order to break inside of it. They don't have a goblin at hand, and that sort of complicates things."

"Hmm…" thinking for a quick second, Draco shook his head. "I don't know if it would work, but seeing as how both my aunt and uncle are in Azkaban, I think that my mother has access inside of it-"

"No," it was Neville who shook his head. "If Voldemort found out that Narcissa had anything to do with the missing goblet, then she would be killed."

"But if we managed to kill Voldemort before then-" Ginny started to say.

Hermione cut her off though, "No, because then the other Death Eaters would still know what's going on. Tonya's whole point is to prevent Draco from being targeted by any of the Death Eaters."

"Plus," Luna slowly added, "With Bellatrix and her husband both in Azkaban, everyone would know that the only one with access into the vault is Narcissa. We would prevent Draco from becoming a Death Eater, but move them onto Narcissa."

Remus continued watching the scene unfold in front of him. He watched in awe as the other two professors both stayed out of the conversation and allowed the younger ones to lead this meeting of theirs. It reminded him a bit like meetings of the Order; how everyone had a say in their plans, and it amazed him how quick Harry was to take role as leader, but step back even quicker to let everyone else put in their own ideas. It pained him to see how adult-like these teens all were right now, and it made him even more determined to see Tonya's plan fall through. If they ended this by the end of this year, then these teens could be just that – teens. They would no longer have to take on the role of an adult and fight for their lives – they could just act their own ages for once.

Scratching his hair, Seamus looked at all of them. Suddenly he said, "What if we got to the Diadem already, and destroyed all of them. Then Voldemort would know what was going on, and he would move the goblet out of the vault."

"Love," Blaise turned to him, "Think about it – if he moved the goblet, then we would never find it to destroy it."

"The whole point of this is to make sure he doesn't know what we're up to," Ron also reminded Seamus. "If we were to allow him to know what was going on he might move the war to now, and more people would die than originally."

"What does Sirius them say about all of this?" Ginny asked Remus.

Seeing that everyone was now looking at him, Remus said, "Well, right now they're just as stumped as us on what to do. The twins suggested that we just all rush into Gringotts on the day of the Ministry event, and that we take the goblet by force."

"That would never work," Draco scoffed. "The goblins would kill us all before we even have a chance to react."

Remus nodded his head, "That's what Charlie said."

"And Tonya?" Hermione asked. "What was her reaction to all of this?"

"The same as usual," he sighed, "She went right back into planning mode. You could see that she feels guilty about forgetting that detail, but she's determined to find a way to beat it. She refuses to give up."

"Then we won't either," Blaise announced. "We'll think of something. How much time do we have left?"

"Three months," it was Draco who answered. "According to what you all told me; this happens on May thirteenth. Today's the tenth of February, which gives us three months and three days to figure it all out."

Hearing the exact amount of time that they had left to plan, Ron gasped, "That doesn't give us much time then, does it? We need to start training harder."

"Draco, have you been training with them since you found everything out?"

Draco nodded his head, "And Snapes's been training me alongside Potter to block my mind out to the Dark Lord."

"And how's that been coming along?"

It was Snape who replied, "He's doing fairly well for someone with no training. He seems a bit better at it than Potter."

"I was meant to be good at it that's why," Draco announced. When he saw everyone turn to him, he blushed. He hadn't meant to say that out loud. "I have a lot of my memories from the future, and in one of them I was explaining to Potter that my aunt Bellatrix taught me how to block my mind from Severus."

"When did you see that?" Harry asked Draco.

"Three nights ago," Draco shrugged his shoulders. "Apparently you came to me and asked me to help teach you to block your mind for a mission that we were supposed to go on. You wanted to know why I was so good at it, and I told you that I learned it during the summer between fifth and sixth year."

McGonagall winced, "Which means that within three months, Bellatrix is originally meant to teach you Occlumency."

Everyone shuddered at the thought of it. "Have you been having more dreams?" Remus asked him. "This morning, we could all hear Tonya crying after she woke up. She dreamt of-"

"When we first met," Draco nodded his head; pained at hearing how his future wife still cried over his death. "I had the same dream too. I now know everything that happened from the moment that she found me, all the way to the day that Potter them found us in a coffee shop in California."

"And?" asked Blaise. "What happened?"

Draco sighed and lowered his face into his hands. He didn't want to show weakness, but he didn't know how else to act right now. It seemed like in front of this group, he could no longer be vulnerable – they knew some things about him that he still didn't know. "We can't let me forget who she is," he finally said in a pleading voice.

Hermione gasped when she saw the unshed tears in Draco's eyes. Reaching an arm out, she wrapped it around his shoulders and pulled him against her chest. "Don't worry," she promised him. "We won't; that's why we're all here. We're going to make sure the two of you end up together again… like you're meant to be."

"I loved her," Draco admitted, allowing his tears to soak into Hermione's shirt. "She found me in the middle of a storm behind an alley, and I was almost dead. She helped me walk back to her flat, and she nursed me back to health the muggle way. She gave me the couch, and she slept on the floor of her living room because my nightmares would wake her up, and she wanted to be closer so I could feel her. She found her way into the American wizarding world, and managed to get them to make me my wand again. She helped me relearn magic when I was afraid to use it. She took care of me, and she loved me back when I told her how I felt. I can't lose her. I need that. I need to have it for real instead of only in a dream. I need that type of love."

Remus, McGonagall, and Snape all remained silent while Ginny and Luna rushed over to Hermione's side and helped her comfort Draco. Harry, Blaise, Seamus, Ron, and Neville all nodded their heads in a silent agreement that they would protect Draco and Tonya no matter what the cost. It may have only been a dream to Draco, but he felt the effects of true love, and he craved it – they would give it to him, as much as they would help Tonya keep her future somewhat the same; this time there would be no death or pain – only love and happiness; they would end the Death Eater reign once and for all.

"What else is there that we could do?" Fred asked George later on that night. Remus was gone at Hogwarts to tell everyone else about their little dilemma, and Tonya was in her room with Charlie while Bill took Padfoot out for a walk to meet up with Fleur once more. Since Bill's first date with Fleur, he returned the next morning with the little French Veela next to him, and together they all began to fill her in on everything. It was like they were stronger with her on their side now. "We can't get the goblet until later, and Harry isn't going to get the Diadem until we get the goblet."

"And it's not as if can go outside anymore… now that we're wanted prisoners," George added with a smirk.

"But we have to do something."

"We still need to train," George agreed. "Do you think that Remus and Sirius could train us during the day when we aren't planning anything?"

Fred nodded his head, "It's our only chance at survival. And maybe we could even sneak back to Hogwarts with Tonks and Remus for late night training sessions."

"When does Umbridge catch the DA?"

"About a week after Valentine's day, so next week, I think?"

"And it's Marietta who gives them away, right?" when Fred nodded his head again, George grinned, "What if we came up with a sweet that beats the truth potion?"

Fred gasped; "You mean create a new sweet in one week that prevents Dumbridge from sneaking the truth out of Marietta?" suddenly his devilish grin took over his face. "Let's start now!"

Sitting at the table was Sirius, Bill, and Fleur. The three of them were all in  
>Fleur's tiny little two-bedroomed flat, and there were cups of coffee in front of all of them. Sirius noticed that Fleur looked a bit tired at the moment – her usually neat blonde locks were now tied into a sloppy bun, and there were golden strands that fell loosely everywhere. Her eyes looked worn out, and she was dressed in sweats and a baggy t-shirt.<p>

"Are you feeling alright, Fleur?" he asked her.

Nodding her head, she avoided Bill's eyes. "Yez, I am fine, Zeriouz."

"Your English is sounding a little bit better," he slowly said, as if unsure to how she would react to being told that. He didn't want to insult her, but he didn't want to lie either.

"Bill haz been teaching it to meeh," she grinned; as if pleased by the announcement. "I steel haz a lot of werk to do."

"I can understand you much better now though," Sirius beamed, obviously pleased with her reaction to him.

"Thank yooh."

"So," he said, "Bill told all of us what the two of you concluded last night. Do you think it's possible that we'll be able to get any of the goblins on our side?"

Fleur shook her head. "I might haz been abo to geet them on our zide befoa, but now dat my Veela zide is z'owing more; then no! Thee goblinz do nawt like the Veelaz."

Sirius sighed. "What do we do then?"

"The most we can do for now is to continue staking out Gringotts," Bill announced with a slightly bitter tone. "There's nothing else to do."

Tonya was sitting up on her bed with her legs crossed in front of her. Lying down next to her, on his stomach, was Charlie. There was a notebook in front of them, and together, the two friends softly discussed the contents of the book. No one else in the Order knew about the notebook, because Tonya secretly asked Charlie to go out into muggle London to buy it for her the morning after she found out she was pregnant. She knew that when she returned to her own time she would lose the baby, and she was also positive that she would never move on from Draco. She loved him too much, and there was no way that she could start over and get a new guy in her life. If she wasn't with Draco, then she simply she just wouldn't be with anyone. As much as she claimed that she didn't want to think about this pregnancy, she confided in Charlie something differently – she didn't want to forget about the nauseous sensations she feels throughout the day, she didn't want to ignore the odd cravings that have been taking over her lately; she wanted to remember how she felt when she was pregnant with newest Malfoy heir – and this book would be her only way. This was the only time in her life that she would be pregnant, and she wanted to remember everything.

"So what did you write in there today?" Charlie questioned.

Placing the magical quill that ensured nothing would ever happen to the ink in the pages next to her, Tonya looked over the now filled up page in front of her. "What I ate."

"I know that," Charlie rolled his eyes. "You always write down what you ate for the day, just like you always write down the times that you go to the loo. What else did you write? What were your baby thoughts for the day?"

Blushing slightly at the idea of Charlie knowing how she always took the time to mark down her every trip to the loo, and the idea of him knowing her well enough to know that she always wrote her own personal thoughts at the end of the 'timed-log,' Tonya continued to stare down at the page in front of her. When she first decided to monitor her pregnancy, she debated on who to go to for help. She knew that Remus and Sirius would help her to no extent, but she also knew them well enough to know that they would end up going to Molly or McGonagall for advice on how to help her. It wasn't that she didn't trust Molly or McGonagall; she just didn't want anyone to know about this. If anyone knew how she truly felt about this pregnancy they would stop her mission in the past, and force Kreacher to send her back to her own time along with Lucius. Thinking about her newfound friendship with Bill she seriously thought about considering him, but she knew that he would end up sending her to the future without any hesitation – he was just that type of guy. If Bill knew that Tonya didn't want to give up her unborn child he would refuse to let her lose it. As she thought about whom she could ask, Charlie walked into the room, and she knew it – Charlie would help her; he wouldn't tell anyone her secret in fear that Tonya would do something stupid, and he would continue to be by her side as long as she needed a friend to confide in. In the future, if she had a secret to tell and she couldn't tell Seamus or Blaise because they would tell Draco – ruining the surprise – she would always run to Charlie.

The past Charlie proved to be just as futile as the Charlie in the future. It helped Tonya to know that he was a true friend no matter what time zone you were in. As soon as she told him what she wanted to do, he left without a word. Two hours later he returned from muggle London, and emptied out two bags on her bed. One bag held five notebooks: two of them were a light blue color with ducks and bottles on the cover, whereas two were light pink with bottles and crows on the cover. The fifth book was a plain yellow color that he said he thought she might like just to dawdle in. That bag also held packets of stickers inside of it in case she wanted to decorate the pages with designs. Tonya began to cry when she saw what the stickers were – Charlie found a store that sold dragon items, and they seemed to have a sale on dragon stickers. The second bag was filled with items from the magical world: magical quills that ensured whatever it produced never faded or got ruined by the weather. It was nice to know that these books could become damaged or wet, and her words were still be as clear as the moment she wrote it. There was another quill inside of it as well that seemed to change colors with a simple whispered word. Whatever color you wanted would show up on the page. Charlie said that he got that quill so she could draw on the pages if she wanted to.

It's been seventeen days since Tonya started writing in the book, and its pages were already filled with schedules, thoughts, words to an unborn child, dragon stickers, and drawings of a magical world. There was even a little side note in there from Charlie talking about how bi-polar she was one day. It wasn't where Tonya _wanted_ to chase Sirius around the manor with a knife, but she didn't appreciate him asking her when she was going to start getting fat. And of course she cried about it afterwards – he basically called her fat. And it was only obvious that she would apologize for trying to stab him with a knife, because she was living in his house. Everyone was too scared to talk to her that day though. Apparently they think she's now bi-polar.

"Names," Tonya grinned.

"Names?"

Tonya nodded her head. "Names," she repeated. "We talked about it once before. We were babysitting Teddy, and we started talking about having our own kids. Draco wanted seven kids, just like your mom them, and he also wanted six boys and one girl."

Charlie chuckled, "Wow, so he really did want it like Mum them, huh?"

"Exactly. I said that he was insane though, and that I only wanted like two or three kids, but he wouldn't hear it. He wanted his six sons and his one daughter – she has to be the youngest though, or it would throw everything off."

Still chuckling, Charlie shook his head. "Did he have all of their names planned out as well?"

"No," Tonya smiled softly, feeling her tears returning again. Everyone was used to it by now, and thanks to this pregnancy, she could no longer try to hide them anymore. "That was the one thing that he wasn't so sure about. He said that the only request he had for the names was that we name one of the boys after him, and that our daughter at least has Anne in her name."

"Anne?"

"After me," she whispered. "Tonya Anne. He said that we don't have to have the Tonya in there, because he knows how much my own name annoys me, but he at least wants to keep Anne."

"So he wanted a Draco Lucius Malfoy II, and an Anne?" Tonya nodded her head, and Charlie gently ran his fingers over the light blue notebook that was opened in front of them. "Is that why you chose to write in the blue one?" he asked her. "Because Draco wants a boy before anything else?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "Is it silly of me?"

"No," Charlie smiled, trying his best to assure her, "It's not silly of you."

Tonya could see that Charlie wanted to say more, but what else could he say? There were no replies to her question. Was she being silly in hoping for a boy first because she knew that Draco always wanted that first? Of course she was, but then again, she was only acting normally. "He didn't want the first one to be named after him."

"Which one did he want to be named after him?"

"The third," Tonya scoffed. "In honor of Percy."

Charlie's eyes both went as wide as saucers. "My brother Percy?"

"Yep! Draco said that Percy was the only Weasley who turned his back on his family, but came back when they needed him the most. He claimed that Percy was the one who really fought alone during everything because for most of the time he was alone – he was the smart one so he got picked on, he was the ponce so he got picked on, he was the one with the most ambitions so he got picked on… Draco had this thing where he felt most relatable to Percy."

"Because they both have the most to atone for?" Charlie asked.

Tonya nodded her head. "Percy turned his back on his family, and Draco turned his back on humanity. Draco wanted to make sure that our third son would be independent like Percy had learned to become, but as strong-willed as his father. It's sort of confusing, but-"

"No," Charlie quickly interrupted, "It's not. Draco feels like Percy is the disappointment of the Weasley family because of what's happening this year, and he also feels like he's the disappointment of the wizarding world because of how he acts towards people. In the end though, they both pulled through: Percy reunited with us, and Draco fell in love with a muggle. He wants to have a reminder of the trials, and the rewards that you get at the end of the story. Draco felt like he didn't have any other way to honor his past-self and future-self, or Percy's past-self and future-self. I get it. It makes sense," something inside of Charlie snapped, and he almost felt like breaking down. "That's what makes him human."

Wiping away her tears, Tonya watched the conflict shadow Charlie's face. She knew that it wasn't easy for any of the Weasleys to still ignore Percy, but they all knew that he wouldn't believe them until he saw Voldemort for himself. In the end Percy will only show up when it matters the most, and if they told him anything right now he would only end up running to Fudge, and tell him everything. "Exactly."

Still allowing his mind to contemplate the idea of Draco wanting to bless one of his sons for Percy, Charlie looked down at the notebook once more. "So, what names do you have so far?"

"You're going to laugh."

"I promise I won't."

Blushing again, Tonya slowly pushed the book towards her beaming friend. "Nothing is settled yet. I'm only thinking of possibilities of what I would want to name him."

_**It hurts that I'll never be able to hold you, but I can no longer refer to you as 'the baby' or 'it' or even 'son'! It may be silly, but I know that you're a boy. Your father wanted his firstborn to be a son, and I know deep in my heart that that is what you are. Naming you is the only chore that your father would have allowed me, because he has this thing about spoiling me rotten and not allowing me to do any work. Although I know that the day won't come when I'll hold you in my arms and shout your name out loud or tell you that I love you as I lay you down to sleep every night, it's only right that you have a name. In this moment, you exist – before I return to another time where you will be immediately erased from me; you exist. And as long as you exist, and thereafter, you will be named.**_

_**I have help from all sorts of brave and strong people who are already dead in my time, or injured from the war that I'm helping to prevent from happening. There are so many brave men that I want to name you after, and as a promise to your father, you can't be named after him. I want a name that means something, a name that represents the love your father and I have for each other and for you. I want you to have a strong name, a name that you can be proud of, and that your father would approve of.**_

_**Your father told me that he doesn't mind if we don't keep up the Black family tradition of naming their children after constellations, but I know he's lying to me. I can read him like an open book. So, my darling son, you will be named after an old family tradition, something strong, something that represents love and new beginnings, something that reminds me of the reasons for this painful sacrifice – you will have a name, though there will be no face to show…**_

_Orion John Malfoy (Named after your father's cousin that also lost a lot in his life, but has become like a father to me during my time in the past. And a father who also never got the chance to see his son grow.)_

_Cygnus Arthur Malfoy (Your great-great-grandfather, and also the representation of new life. He represent old Malfoy, and you are a new generation; a new type of Malfoy. And Arthur needs no explanation – he is another grandfather figure in your life that made a difference.)_

_Hercules Harry Malfoy (Hercules defeated the lion, and a beast with many heads. He killed the crab, and he held the world on his shoulders – you, my little boy, would represent the many obstacles that it took before your father found life in us. For if it weren't for the bad, he never would have known the good. And your uncle Harry; well, he's the one who saved the world. You would be named after the man who defeated the lion, and the lion who couldn't be defeated.)_

_Leo Ronald Malfoy (The lion who could not be defeated by any weapon. In the end he met his fate to Hercules who managed to kill him in a humanely way. Leo was worshipped, but he did what he wanted because he was unbeatable. I want you to represent the past, which came down because of their own foolishness, and I want to prove them wrong. You would've been undefeated, and with your kind heart and bravery after your uncle Ron, you wouldn't fall as easily as Leo did. This is your name not because of the evil, but because the evil has been defeated and in the end, the lions both stood proud.)_

_Lupis Blaise Malfoy (Named after your uncle Remus who overcame the prejudices of being a werewolf, and your godfather who was your father's best friend. Your uncle Blaise was a pureblooded Slytherin who was in love with a Gryffindor. He was also gay. Remus died in the war, protecting everyone, and Blaise turned his back on his own friends and family just to help the innocents. You would have faced judgment in your life because of who your parents are – a Malfoy and a muggle – but like the two you were named after, I would want you to stand up bravely and keep fighting for what you want.)_

_Phoenix William Malfoy (Like the bird, you are beautiful. When the war ended, your father changed into the perfect man that I love with all my heart, and you are the outcome. For every fire brings pain, but once the pain subsides and the ashes start to blow away, a new beginning arises. Your uncle Bill became scarred by the war – both physically and emotionally. But through all the pain and death, he also found his love and created a daughter that would have been your best friend. This name comes from love, and from love comes you!)_

_Scorpius Charles Malfoy (Scorpius destroyed the hunter that hunted him, and your uncle Charlie works with dragons. The two beasts that refused to go down, and in the end won the fight. Your name explains it all.)_

_Aquila Neville Malfoy (Your sacrifice brings the freedom that this world has fought centuries for. It brings the freedom for a man who never had the chance to back down. Your uncle Neville was once as cowardly as a slug met with salt, but in the end it was him who brought down the final sword. This name represents a new type of freedom – freedom for love, freedom for life, freedom from the painful chains of fear, and freedom to just be.)_

Charlie read the list of names that Tonya had written out, and he smiled as he went over it. He noticed that she didn't put everyone's name in it, but she at least mentioned the ones that she felt had to overcome a lot. Laughing as he read the reasoning for his own name; he silently prayed that she chose that one. Not just because his name's in it, but also because it's a mixture of a scorpion and a dragon trainer. She would be naming her son after a scorpion that killed a hunter, and a dragon trainer. That child would be the scariest kid in school, and that's what Charlie really wanted to see – how a child with that name would survive. Especially when his last name meant 'bad faith,' it was like Tonya _wanted _her son to get into trouble.

"There's nothing to laugh at," he said suddenly. "These are really good names, and I like how you added in the reasons about why you chose it."

"So you don't think it's all silly?"

"No," he assured her. "I don't think it's all silly."

"Which one do you like best?" when Charlie erupted into loud laughter, Tonya rolled her eyes, "Let me guess – Leo Ronald?"

Continuing to laugh, Charlie rolled over onto his back, and nodded his head, "Of course I picked the one with my youngest brother's name in it. I mean… why would I pick the one that mentions a scorpion and has my own name in it? 'Cause, you know, _that_ just wouldn't be right."

Everyone was busy that night; all having something to keep them occupied…

Lucius Malfoy, who wasn't yet informed about the little dilemma, was hiding out in Hogsmeade and waiting for the three Death Eaters that he knew would kill some people soon. He was on a mission to kill all the Death Eaters that he could, and he didn't bother to care that some of these wizards were people he recruited. He wasn't dumb enough to target the ones that he knew Voldemort would miss, but he was making sure to put a huge dent in the enemies' number before any more innocent people could get injured.

Sirius and Bill were both still at Fleur's place, no longer talking about Horcruxes, but instead just laughing about when Bill was a student at Hogwarts. They were talking about when Fleur was a young witch at Beauxbaton, and some of the mischief that the Marauders used to cause. There were cups of tea now in front of all of them, and Fleur also placed a plate filled with hot croissants in the middle of the table. They were all happy as they reminisced of when they were younger and carefree.

Fred and George made sure to silence the room that Sirius had them sleeping in while they lived at Grimmauld Place, because if they didn't then everyone would be able to hear the loud explosions coming from their bedroom. Loud explosions coming from the bedroom of the Weasley twins were known, and expected, but this time the explosions were because they were trying to create a new sweet or pill that would make the consumer immune to the truth potion for at least ten hours. They were determined to prevent the DA from getting caught this year – they wanted to help the Order out in a way that no one else could.

Charlie and Tonya were still in her room, going over more choices of names for the baby. Tonya wanted to possibly have the twins' names somehow twisted into the name. Tonya found that as she planned for the baby, she didn't really have that much time to cry about Draco.

The professors were all now meeting with each other, and instead of grading assignments they were all plotting on how to get rid of Umbridge without her or Filch learning what they were all up to. Somewhere on a corridor, Peeves was dropping buckets of slugs onto said professor.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville were all sitting in a corner of the Gryffindor common room with Seamus while they all either played games of Wizards' Chess, Exploding Snaps, or sat curled up on a couch chair reading a book. Now that she knew she ended up marrying Harry in the future, Ginny was trying to persuade him to just ditch Cho already because dating her doesn't mean anything important in the past. Though they both still blushed at the thought of it, Ron and Hermione were slowly getting closer to becoming a couple, and while she sat curled up on her chair reading her book, Hermione allowed her feet to hang off and rest on Ron's shoulders, while he commanded his knight to take Seamus's tower.

Luna was sitting between Blaise and Draco in the library, while they all laughed about something that happened to Draco when he was younger. Normally, Draco would have gotten offended that anyone was laughing at his expense, but now that he knew he was happy he wouldn't let little things get to him anymore. He had no reason to frown; his life would turn out for the better in the future. Luna got odd looks when she suggested that the two Slytherins go on a hunt with her for Crumple-Horned Snorkacks, but they both decided that it sounded like fun, and agreed. Thoughts of breaking into his aunt's vault remained in the back of Draco's mind while he laughed for the first time in years.

Everybody was laughing about something or the other. Everyone was busy either plotting to get the headmistress fired, or they were too busy having fun and just remembering the old times. They were either out killing Death Eaters that no one knew existed yet, or they were at home working on a relationship that originally wasn't meant to start yet. Everyone was busy doing _something_. No one realized that in the future, their older selves were on a hunt.

Harry finally got a clue about who killed Draco. He called Seamus, Ron, and even Neville in for help. Leaving behind their wives, husband, and fiancées, they also called in the rest of the Weasley brothers for help. If Harry's hint was correct, then they needed to act quickly – they knew that someone had been impersonating Draco Malfoy, and he would kill again.

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Constellation names and meanings. (I got them from google):**

_**Orion – The Great Hunter**_

_**Cygnus – The Swan**_

_**Hercules – Well, it's Hercules… everyone knows what he did… if you don't, just ask, and I'll tell you(:**_

_**Leo – The Lion**_

_**Lupis – The Wolf**_

_**Phoenix – The Phoenix (a beautiful bird that rises out of the ashes)**_

_**Scorpius – The Scorpion**_

_**Aquila – Eagle**_

**-Please review! And this time, along with what you like or didn't like about this chapter, please leave the name that you want chosen... Also, I apologize for the long wait again – had a problem with the internet and then the hospital, but it should be all good from now on. **

**So please, review and leave the name you like the best(:**


	20. Almost There

**So I totally owe my friend Kyle! My laptop had a bit of a mental breakdown and decided to freeze my Microsoft Office program. I have my stories all saved on more than 1 flashkey though (I learned my lesson with that) but then it wouldn't let me open any writing documents at all! I could do everything but open a writing document (already saved file or blank page)! I'm retarded when it comes to technology and I posted a cry for help on my facebook. Finally this guy who was in a couple of my classes back in school responded. (I use to have a thing for him, and he knew it too!) He talked me through everything and after an hour of troubleshooting, reinstalling, recovering, changing, restarting, and crying, Kyle helped me to fix it. So yayyy! I can continue writing stories, and I owe Kyle a life debt!(:**

**So to make sure that it worked now, I've decided to write this chapter at 2 in the morning… **

Almost There!

_(In The Future)_

Harry was working hard at his desk. His Auror robes were thrown on the floor of his office, and his left hand tugged at his shirt. He hated this. It's been seven days over a month since he sent Tonya into the past. Seven days over a month since Draco was murdered. And they were no closer to finding the killer than they were to finding the fountain of youth. It seemed almost impossible at this point. Whoever killed Draco did a clean job of it… so to speak. It wasn't clean in the way they actually killed him; that was actually gruesome, and they were all currently looking for another flat for Tonya to live in, because some walls just stay stained forever. Hermione's charm on the body was really working well enough to the point that it wasn't decomposing or starting to smell, but Narcissa was getting a harder time with taking pieces of Draco's body for the potions. In the beginning she would use a strand of his hair, but then she feared that he would go bald, so she started to clip his nails, and she even resorted to shaving his legs just to get hair. But a part of Harry knew that it was for nothing.

What was the point in catching the killer now, when Tonya was only going to change the future to ensure that this murder never happened? Everything was happening so fast, and Harry knew he wasn't the only one whose memories were beginning to change. Luna now remembers conversations with Blaise in hidden corridors, and Neville suddenly remembers plotting with Hermione and Seamus on how to trap Mrs. Norris inside of a suit of armor. All of those things never would have been possible before. Everything was changing; they were all different now. Hermione and Ron are even talking about it being possible that they fell in love with each other during fifth year. Not to mention the fact that Luna and Neville started to date during fifth year. So with all of the changes that was happening to them, and the way their memories were being altered, what was the point of still hunting for the murderer of Draco Malfoy?

It took a long time, and it was still taking some more time, but the past Lucius Malfoy was starting to see their point. After Narcissa got sick of him calling her a traitor, she locked him in the room with their dead son. After five minutes he began banging on the door. It was Ron who opened the door, and it was Ron who caught him as he collapsed. They all watched Lucius Malfoy throw up in the hallway, and they all saw the genuine tears in his eyes. It seemed to dawn on him that everything was caused by the trouble that he brought upon his son, so he no longer attacked them. Kreacher still made sure he was locked in the flat, but Lucius was no longer chained up in the corner. It was Lucius who brought it to Harry's attention actually.

_How would any remaining evil Death Eaters know that Draco would be alone today? Why would he have willingly let them into the flat, and not have his wand on him? If Draco opened the door and saw a fellow Death Eater, wouldn't he attack them? Why would he invite them inside, and then walk into the bedroom to finish getting dressed after his shower? Why would he keep his wand in the kitchen, and go into his bedroom with a Death Eater in his flat?_

Why?

It was all good questions, and now it haunted Harry. Harry knew that he wasn't the only one bothered by everything that Lucius brought up, and he wasn't the only one going crazy searching for an answer. When Narcissa first showed up at the Ministry in the pretense of being Draco, everyone looked around to see if anyone looked guilty. They walked around the wizarding world, and even met up with the false Draco for lunch in Diagon Alley, but not once did they see a guilty face. They weren't looking hard enough though. They were too busy searching the faces of people they thought were enemies.

It didn't dawn on them to look at friends.

"You're still here, Harry?"

Looking up from his desk, Harry saw Blaise leaning against the doorframe. He was no longer the neat looking Blaise Zabini that they had come to know over the years. He was now disoriented; he had the shadow of a man who watched his best friend die. "I keep getting the feeling that we're missing something."

"Professor Lupin knows now."

"I know," Harry sighed. "And George called me with a memory that he and Fred are making some sort of anti-Veritaserum potion inside of a sweet," he added.

"At least we're making progress," Blaise smiled. His arms were folded over his chest, and he looked at least five years older than his true age.

"What did Remus want with you and Draco after our meeting?"

"To teach us the Patronus," Blaise grinned. "He knew that Draco hasn't really been able to practice that yet, so he figured he'd try to teach him the basics before leaving us. When Draco told him he didn't have any happy memories though, he told him to use his dreams."

Chuckling, Harry took his glasses off and began to rub his eyes. "When I first used that spell, and I mean really used it for the first time, there were a hundred Dementors closing in on me and Sirius. Sirius was nearly dead, and one of them was close enough for me to see what's underneath the hood. From across the lake I saw someone use a Patronus to save us. Later on that night, when Hermione and I went back in time, I remained hidden behind a tree. I watched the Dementors close in on us, and I kept waiting for whoever saved us to show up. But no one came."

"It was you," Blaise realized, with wide eyes. He's heard the stories of Harry Potter in Hogwarts, but it amazed him how much he still really didn't know about his friend. "And you were able to use the spell again because you already knew you did it. That was your happy memory."

Harry nodded his head. "Did Draco succeed?"

"His Patronus is a dragon."

"Why am I not surprised?" Harry snorted.

"So," Blaise asked after a while of silence, "Did you find anything else?"

Shaking his head, Harry sighed. "No."

"Why don't you take a break tonight," Blaise told him. "Are you and Ginny still sleeping at the flat?" when Harry nodded his head, Blaise sighed. "I take it that's where Hermione and Ron are sleeping as well?"

Harry nodded his head again. "Narcissa sleeps in the guest room, and Lucius finally moved in there with her. The four of us sleep out in the living room."

"I figured. Seamus wanted to sleep there with you guys, but I told him that it would be crowded enough as is. Luna and Neville have been sleeping at our place. George is too. We told him to go home to Angelina, but she understands that he needs to be with us, so she lets him go," Harry didn't say anything, so Blaise pressed further. "How's Ginny? I haven't seen her in three days."

Looking up at Blaise, Harry could see the pain in his eyes. It was like looking into Ginny's eyes once more. "Aside from you and the Malfoys, she's taking it the worst. We all love him, but he was her best mate."

"I know," Blaise sighed. "I wish I could do more to help her, but I can't. Every time I look at her, I break down again. Their relationship is how he and I used to be in school."

"Ever since Lucius stopped trying to hex us all, he told me that sometimes Ginny sneaks into the bedroom when she thinks no one's watching her. He told me that he can hear her telling Draco stories."

Blaise opened his mouth to reply back to Harry, but Narcissa suddenly ran into the office. The potion was still in effect so she still looked like Draco, but they could see the fear from Narcissa in the pale face. Grabbing onto Blaise's wrist she pulled him into Harry's office, and shut the door behind them. Pulling her son's wand out of the Auror robes that she was wearing, Narcissa made sure to silence the office so that no one could hear them. Not bothering to give them time to question her, she pulled a note out of her robes, and she threw it at Harry's face. Blaise walked around the desk to read over Harry's shoulder.

They both gasped at what they read.

_Did you think you would catch me?_

_I bet you think you're smart!_

_I know you're not Draco, because I killed him._

_And you're next, Narcissa!_

"Get her home!" Harry told Blaise. "Get her to the flat right now!"

Nodding his head, Blaise held tightly onto Narcissa's hand. "We'll meet you there."

Staring down at the note, Harry felt the fear rush through him. Not only because the killer knew it was Narcissa who was impersonating her son, but also because the style of the note. Whereas most idiotic fools would actually handwrite a death threat, or even type one out, this person's style was different. In fact, it was so different that it was cliché. But Harry knew that a normal Death Eater wouldn't think to write a letter in this style. No Death Eater would ever lower themself to such a muggle standard. No – only a muggle would know how to cut out letters from magazines and newspapers to glue it onto a piece of parchment. Harry didn't know if the killer did this purposely to draw them away from Death Eater suspects, or if it was a slip up, but whatever the reason they just gave Harry a big clue.

It wasn't a Death Eater who killed Draco. It was a muggle-born.

"So whoever killed Draco knew that Death Eaters were after him?" Lucius questioned. They were all gathered inside of the flat with the note in front of them on a table. Narcissa was back in her own form by now, and shaking against her husband. It didn't matter that he was from the past, he was her husband and she needed him. "It has to be somebody from inside the Ministry then."

"Not necessarily," Seamus shook his head. "A lot of people knew that the remaining Death Eaters were killing off the ones who turned their backs. Everyone knew Draco was a target."

"But who else would be able to observe Narcissa to know it was her in particular, and not someone else?" Hermione questioned. She was siding with Lucius on this one. "A lot of people in the Ministry still don't like Draco because of the past."

"But to kill him?" Blaise shook his head. "I just don't think it was anyone inside of the Ministry."

"Me neither," Narcissa sighed. "The letter came by owl."

"Did you get a good look at the owl?" Ginny asked. Her voice was as cracked as it had been from the minute she first saw Draco's dead body.

Narcissa shook her head. "Ronald and I just returned from a task over in Wales, and Kingsley was asking us how it went. I only saw it from the corner of my eyes. I couldn't even tell you what color it was."

"Me neither," Ron sighed. Throwing himself down onto the couch, he leaned forward and rubbed his eyes. "Is that the letter you picked up when we were leaving?"

Shuddering, Narcissa nodded her head. She looked up at Harry. "We had both just clocked out, and we were walking towards the fireplace. I loudly asked Ronald if he and Hermione wanted to come over for dinner because Tonya was making lasagna, and that was when I spotted the envelope on my desk. Keeping up the pretense, I shouted that I'd see him later tonight, and I picked it up."

"I didn't think much of it," Ron sighed. "We usually do things like that to keep up the show. It was how Draco and I were before."

Reading over the letter again, Hermione shook her head. "The only people who know about these sorts of notes are muggles."

"Which helps prove it's no one in the Ministry," Blaise pointed out. "The only muggle-borns that work in the Ministry are you and Hannah Abbott. And I highly doubt that Hufflepuffs are killers now."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Harry kept trying to think. They were missing something. "Do you remember our conversation, Mr. Potter?"

"Yes," Harry snapped at the Malfoy patriarch when he saw Lucius staring at him. "I remember it, thanks. Why would Draco let them into the flat?"

"What?"

Turning to his fiancée, Harry scratched the back of his neck. "Lucius and I were talking about it a couple of days ago. And he brought up a good point. Draco knew that Death Eaters wanted to kill him. So why would he invite them into the flat? The floo is only hooked up to a total of eleven places: Malfoy Manor, Zabini Manor, Grimmauld Place, Ron and Hermione's place, Neville and Luna's place, the Burrow, George and Angelina's, the Ministry, Bridgewater Alley in America, Shell cottage, and Charlie's place. It was obviously none of us, and we checked the Ministry's floo; no one came here from there that day, so whoever it was had to have been invited inside by the front door. Why would Draco invite a Death Eater inside, and leave his wand on the kitchen counter?"

Nobody said anything for a while. They were all silently thinking about what Harry just said. "He knew them," Ron slowly said. Hermione and Ginny both gasped, with tears running down both of their faces now. Seamus looked as sickened as Ron did. "He thought of them as a friend, and he invited them inside."

"I'm going to kill them," Seamus bit out angrily. His knuckles were turning white as he formed a tight fist. "That sick fuck! Draco trusted them, and they did this to 'im?"

"That's why he was in his boxers," Ginny whispered. "He must've jumped out of the shower when he heard them ringing the bell. He threw on his boxers to answer it, saw whoever it was, and invited them inside. Thinking they were a friend, he tossed his wand onto the kitchen counter and then went inside of the room to get dressed. That's why he cried," she let out a loud sob now, and Harry pulled her tightly into his arms. "He trusted them, he trusted them and they tortured him. He didn't cry because it was painful, he cried because they were his friend."

Leaning forward, Lucius sighed. When the house-elf first brought him here, he thought they were all mad. Even his wife had lost her mind, but then she threw him into the room with his son and he saw the blood. He saw his chest ripped open, and he saw the tearstains stuck to his face. Then he saw it… the reason for the murder. That was when he lost his mind. He drove his son into becoming a Death Eater. That was when Lucius decided to join them. They may have been insane, but they were trying to catch the bastard who killed his son, and he would help them. He would help create a safer future for his son… and even that muggle woman who was now in the past trying to prevent this from ever happening. "I know that my son acted a bit a vicious in the past, but how many muggle-borns have a reason to want him dead in such a vindictive manner? And how many of them would he be friends with?"

Ginny nodded her head at Lucius's question. It was obvious that she was also trying to think of who it could be. "And why would they want to kill Narcissa?"

Harry gasped. Jumping to his feet, he turned to Seamus and Ron. "I think I know who it is," they both instantly jumped up too. "Lucius, Blaise, you need to stay here. Protect the girls in case he comes here while we're searching for him," he turned to his fiancée and Hermione, "Send us a Patronus if anyone tries to breech the wards. Kreacher is here, he'll help protect all of you."

Without another word, Harry left for Seamus and Blaise's place. Seamus and Ron quickly showed up after him. Quickly explaining everything to Neville and Luna, they all sent Luna to the flat, then left for the Burrow. George was there with his family, as well as the rest of the Weasleys. Sending the women to the flat where they would be best protected in case anybody came looking for them, Arthur went with them to help Lucius and Blaise keep them all safe. Plus he just didn't trust Lucius. He trusted the Lucius from this time, but not the past Lucius. That was the Lucius he wanted to punch again.

Standing in the Burrow, Harry explained his theory. No one denied it, and no one tried to tell him he was wrong. When he explained it to them, they were all quick to agree. Charlie, Bill, George, Ron, Seamus, Neville, and Harry all left. They knew where he lived and they needed to find him before he acted on his threat. He knew that Narcissa was pretending to be Draco, and he was going to attempt to kill her. Harry prayed that he was wrong, but in his heart he knew he wasn't.

It all made sense now… the reason the killer was able to get close to Draco, the way they knew that Tonya wouldn't be home, how they were able to notice the difference in Draco and Narcissa, how they knew about the Death Eaters wanting to kill Draco, why Draco cried while being tortured… all of it… it all made sense. How didn't they see it before? How many people truly blamed Draco for the war? How many people made a huge thing about Draco being accepted into the Ministry? How many people rebuked the idea of a couple of the Death Eaters being released into society? How many of those people did Draco seem to have a good relationship with? How many times did he sit at the Malfoy dinner table with them, and laugh about things that happened at Hogwarts? How long had he been planning to torture and kill Draco after gaining the trust of him and his wife? How the hell had they not seen this?

_(Back In The Past)_

_** It's two in the morning. I'm sitting against the window, and watching the rain beat against it. I'm just thankful it isn't storming; I hate storms. When I first met your father, it was storming. But that isn't why I hate storms. Your father knows I hate storms, and he knows why too. I remember it was storming one night when we were still in America. I slept on the floor because he would wake me up with his nightmares from where he slept on the couch, so I slept close to him to wake him up quickly. That night though, I couldn't sleep. So I asked him if he could lay down with me. I was freezing though, and he refused to put on a shirt. I fell asleep quickly though. When I was in his arms I felt like the storm could never get me. He didn't know it at that time, but I already loved him. **_

_** I used to wake up screaming from nightmares about your father's murder, but tonight I woke up from a new nightmare. I honestly think this is the worst nightmare I've had yet. In this nightmare, I gave birth to you. I returned to the future, and your father was there. He made sure to fatten me up real good to keep you healthy, and then in the middle of the night my water broke. He rushed me to St. Mungos, and he called your grandparents (his parents) and all of our friends, who is just an extended family, really. Bill and Fleur showed up with their beautiful baby girl, and Andromeda was even there with Teddy. Draco stayed with me inside of the room, and Narcissa was inside of the room with us. She replaced my own mum, you see. Draco tightly held onto one hand, and Narcissa held onto the other. I was in so much pain, and I cursed your father for putting me through all the pain, and he cried for me. Hermione and Ginny burst into the room to see why I was screaming so loud, and even Fleur came inside. Fleur and I never really got along that much in my real time, but we're getting close in the past, I guess. In this nightmare of mine, we were close enough for her head to be between my legs while shouting for Draco to man up and stop whimpering from the loss of feeling in his hand. It seemed like hours, but with one final push I heard you crying. Your father cut the cord when the doctor told him to, and he even took you from the healers before they had a chance to clean you up. There you were, bloody and crying, and yet he held you tightly to his chest. After being threatened by your grandmother and aunts, your father finally gave you to the healer. He stood there though, breathing down her neck as she cleaned you up. Once you were gunk free, your father took you once again. Then he gave you to me. And you were the most precious thing I have ever seen.**_

_** Do you understand now why it was my worst nightmare? I gave birth to you. I held you. I looked into your curious eyes while you opened them and stared into my own eyes. I heard you take your first breath. It was such a cruel nightmare, and now I can't stop crying because of it… do you see my tearstains on the page? I'm sorry – I've gone and ruined your book! But I can't help it. The cruelest thing on this planet is to take a child from their mother, and that's what my sleep did. It gave you to me, only to take you away. I'll never be able to hold you. Once I return to my own time, you won't be real.**_

_** Sometimes I think I would be better off staying here. I can feel you moving around inside of me. I don't know if it's normal for me to feel you yet, or if you're doing it to tell me how selfish I am for letting you go, but I feel you little boy. I feel you inside of me. I tell myself that if I just stay here you'll be real, but it isn't true. Once I stop your father from getting the dark mark, you'll disappear just like my future. I have no reason to go back, but I'll lose you either way. Even if I gave birth to you in this time, once Harry kills Voldemort, or once your father passes up that mark, you'll be taken from me just like when I woke up. It wouldn't matter what I do, because it's already in motion. You're already slipping through reality, and where you're going I cannot follow.**_

_** Sometimes I think I would be better off joining your father, but I can't. Not because I'm weak or because I'm scared, but because, like I said, everything is already set into motion. I came here to prevent his death, which means he'll live and I'll be alone either way.**_

_** The best thing for me to do would be to just live. When I return, I'll have everyone that I have now. Except for you! I wish I could have you. I wonder who you'll look like. In my nightmare you were fare like the both of us, and you had a head full of thick black hair like my natural hair color. But your eyes – you opened your eyes once I had you in my arms, and I could see your father in your eyes. They were as grey as a storm, and you smiled up at me. I swear you did. It was the first time I ever loved a storm so much! So I wonder… what would you look like? Would you look like you did in my nightmare, or would you be different? Would you have your father's blonde hair, and my blue eyes? Or would you have my black hair and my blue eyes? Or his blonde hair and grey eyes? Would you be tall like your father or short like me? All Malfoys are blonde; I hope you have my hair, just to be the first Malfoy born without blonde hair.**_

_** I have so many questions that I know will never be answered, and I'm sorry my love, but it's only my fault. I often ask myself if I still would've come here if I knew. I saw your father in a dream, and I told him that I wouldn't want you without him, but it isn't true. And he knew it too – he always knew when I was lying. I don't think I would have. If I knew that I was pregnant with you, I don't think I would have come here. I would probably be supported by friends and family while I held onto my stomach tightly and cried over his casket right now.**_

_** It may not seem like it, but I'm young. I'm only twenty. I already lost my husband; I don't want to lose my child too. Do you think you could forgive me one day? Do you think that one day you'll be able to love me even though I gave you up? I don't think I can that's why. I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive myself for losing you before I even got you. Right now, you're the most precious thing to me. I don't want to lose you, but it seems impossible to keep you with me.**_

_** I'm sorry!**_

"Tonya?"

Quickly hiding her book behind her back, Tonya looked up at her slightly open door. "Yes, Sirius?"

"I saw that your light was on," he frowned. "Is everything okay?"

Nodding her head, Tonya looked back out the window. "I don't like storms," she told him.

"I know what you mean," Sirius sighed, not realizing that Tonya was now having a flashback to her time with Draco in America. "I was just headed downstairs to make a cup of tea. Do you want to come with me?"

"I'll be right there," she smiled in response. Once Sirius was out of sight, and she was sure that he was already downstairs, Tonya sighed and looked back out the window. "Don't worry, Draco," she whispered, "The Dementors are gone!"

**I know that everybody overuses the whole 'Dragon Patronus' thing with Draco, but I literally spent an entire hour researching animals that I thought would match him, and even animals that would match Tonya (because of the whole soul-mate thing) but in the end, I still came back to a dragon. I mean, it just matches him so much. Him and Tonya, both. So that's what I went with(:**

**Well, what did you guys think? Did you like the whole 'future thing'? I figured that some of you may be wondering what's going on with that so I thought I'd be nice since I've been wonky lately, and give you a peek into the future! Do you guys approve? Do you guys all know who it is now? I tried not to give it away, but I think I did ): Who do you guys think it is? I'm eager to see who's right and who's wrong, and I want to know if I'm good at this whole mysterious thing or not… What about Tonya's letters to the baby? Please review, I really loved your responses last chapter, and I'm greedy – I want more(:**

**There were a lot of great reviews throughout this entire story and last chapter, (I saw new people, and I love you guys!) and I know I'm horrible because I don't always respond, but there were some questions or wonderings that I haven't gotten to answering for a while now, so I'm sort of going to do it now…**

Aria-Chan: Yayy! The memories were mostly a filler because I was lame and didn't really know what to write during that time, but also because I knew you guys must have wanted to know more about what happened to make them meet and how Tonya reacted to finding a nearly dead wizard in an alleyway. I hope that I satisfied you with the planning in the next chapters though? And I'm sorry if it's taking a long time to get to the actual battle, but I have a habit of dragging things, only because I don't like leaving things blank, and I want to fill in as much possible things as I can. I feel like if I make the battle happen soon then there'll be so much unanswered things, and relationships that I ignored. I promise to make it worth it though(:

(I thought there were more questions, but I guess not? Well, I thank you all again for all of your reviews! And twinkletin24, I like opinions like yours! And you got the whole point of the notebook – the message that I was trying to convey. Thank you for your review!)

And also, I forget who I was messaging about this a while ago, but we talked about who the killer is. I hope this didn't spoil anything for you, because I tried not to give much away, but I remember you being sort of on this track, and I think I didn't reply because I didn't know how to without giving it away. Well, I'm sorry, but you were right, and there's going to be more of it now…


	21. Changing History

**I just ran into an old friend from high school a couple of days ago, and he told me his girlfriend gave birth a couple months ago… my friend is a ginger with brown eyes, his girlfriend is a brunette with green eyes (and she has freckles) – their daughter has his hair and her mom's everything else… my friend's daughter is a ginger, with green eyes, and freckles. She has red hair, green eyes, and freckles… her name? Lily! My friend and his girlfriend named their ginger daughter who has green eyes and freckles; Lily! So this is how he tells me… "Oh, Ev, you're gonna love this one. So my chick gave birth a couple months ago!" me: "Oh, wow, congrats!" him: "Yeah, it's cool, whatever. But I totally thought of you… So my daughter, she has my hair, and my chick's eyes. She's even got her freckles. Poor thing has my brother's nose, but I guess she's still cute. But guess what-" me: "…" him: "We named her Lily!" my jaw dropped, and he grinned, "Now, do you know why I thought of you? You're the only one I know who would understand it. I tried calling you, but you changed your number." Me: "I love you! Let me be your mistress! I will raise that child as my own, and I will love her. Your girlfriend's a whore – never liked her. You belong with me, and I will buy our child her very first broom. We will love her no matter what. I gotta call my mom; I need to tell her I have a daughter now. Where is this perfect, beautiful child of yours? I am her godmother, I am her mother, I am her best friend… hurry up, buy your things, we need to have a class reunion and find out if anyone has a son named James!"**

**So yeah, it was amusing, I was a bit excited, and my friend even sent me pictures of Lily – she's adorable… just thought I'd share some happy news with you guys… now enjoy this story(:**

Changing History

The next two weeks were filled with much planning from all sides.

Because Draco couldn't let it be known he was now a part of Dumbledore's Army; he's been coming to only the late night training sessions when Tonks and Remus were showing up to train the young Order members. It was hard for him to continue acting like the pompous arse he's always been, but everyone would have been suspicious if they noticed the change in him. He continued to pick on Hermione for being a Mudblood, and he continued to tease Luna for being so loony while they were out in the public, but at night the three of them were close. Not as close as he and Ginny were though. Living with the memories of his future, Draco understood his bond with the youngest Weasley, and he craved the friendship that he wasn't meant to have yet. Ginny listened as he told her about the movie night dates the two of them would always have, and she even laughed when he told her about a dream he had that showed the two of them pranking George because they were fed up with him always pranking them. Things were changing quickly, and Draco was happier than he's ever been in _this _lifetime.

Blaise and Seamus continued to secretly meet whenever they had the chance, and now that their friends knew about them they were allowed to be together during their training sessions and meetings. It was only in class, and around the publicity of Hogwarts, that they had to continue sneering at each other, and pretending to hate the other person. Harry, Ron, and Neville hardly spoke. All of their free moments were spent with training. They were determined to make it out of the Ministry alive, and they felt there wasn't enough time to prepare them… no matter how much they knew.

Snape and McGonagall continued trying to protect all the students against Umbridge, but it was proving futile – the new headmistress had so many rules and decrees that it was impossible to prevent students from getting a detention. Remus and Tonks continued showing up every night for training, and once in a while they would even bring Bill or Charlie Weasley.

When Bill wasn't meeting with Fleur, working at Gringotts, or showing up for late night training sessions at Hogwarts, he was watching Tonya at Grimmauld Place. He, Sirius, and Remus all noticed how the younger girl took to treating a certain notebook like a bible. They didn't know for sure what was in it, but they all had their suspicions. Their suspicions were what made them push even harder to find a way into the Lestrange vault.

Remus told everybody about Draco knowing the complete truth, and the twins were proud of him when they heard he was now training and meeting with everyone else. The only ones in the dark about everything were Tonya and Lucius. Charlie was the only one who was hesitant about Draco knowing, but once Remus went into detail about Draco's breakdown that first day, and Tonks started to praise Draco's quick learning ability, he started to come around.

Everyone noticed that three people were always missing: the twins and Kreacher. It was strange not seeing the twins laughing in the sitting room, or stuffing their faces in the kitchen, but they refused to come down. They claimed they were working on something important, and that it had a deadline. Kreacher's disappearance was odd too. Tonya was positive that he wasn't betraying them like the Kreacher in the past did, but they didn't know where he was. He always returned to make sure they had their meals ready for them, but they never saw him around anymore. Nobody said it out loud, but they were all worried that the future Harry was calling him back to them. The future needing him could mean only one thing – they caught the killer and needed help.

Tonya remained locked in her room most of the time as well, but occasionally she would pop her head out and check on everyone. She continued writing to her unborn child, and she continued to plan things that she'll never be able to do for it. There was a constant nagging feeling in the back of her head, and she couldn't get rid of it. It was just always there… like something that she should know; something that would save Draco's life even if they lost the battle at the Ministry. It was a strong sensation that told her even if Draco were to be branded as a Death Eater he might not be killed in the future. It was… it was _something _that branded him as a personal target, and they could prevent it.

She just didn't know what it was.

"Harry, where were you?"

Entering the Room of Requirement, Harry had his hand bandaged up. "Detention."

"Merlin's beard!" exclaimed McGonagall, "Potter, I thought we told you to stop pushing her buttons."

Allowing both Hermione and Ginny to fuss over his now bleeding hand, Harry threw himself down onto the couch next to a disgruntled Draco. "I tried to," he sighed, "But earlier this morning I saw her threatening two first year Hufflepuffs. One of their bags ripped open, so the other stopped to help her; it was a boy and a girl. Umbridge was shouting at them because of the 'No-Boy-And-Girl-Shall-Be-Within-Five-Feet-Of-Each-Other' decree. I got detention for rolling my eyes and congratulating the girl on being the only person for being pregnant at eleven years old by simply standing within five feet of a boy who was helping her gather all of her books."

"Brilliant!" snorted both Ron and Neville.

"Blimey, 'Arry," Seamus gasped.

Blaise chuckled, "I wish I could've seen the look on Umbridge's face when she heard that."

"I bet it blew up just like a toad's does," Ginny muttered while rubbing the Murtlap Essence on the back of Harry's hand.

Luna had a frown on her usually dreamy looking face. "I hope the kids are alright."

"Don't worry, love," Neville smiled kindly at her, picking her hand up in his, "I'm sure Harry's detention made Umbridge forget all about them."

Harry nodded his head, "Umbridge told them to run off while she dealt with me. They're fine, Luna."

"This is getting ridiculous, Severus," McGonagall said sharply. Turning all of her attention on the bat-like professor, she narrowed her eyes into tiny little slits, "We need to do something about her."

"I know that, Minerva," Snape drawled out in his usual deeply slow baritone. "But everything we've tried isn't working. There's nothing much we can do, other than try to keep the students from getting into trouble with her."

"Maybe…" everyone turned to Hermione who had a troubled look on her face. Harry and Ron were the only two people who truly understood what it meant when she was biting on her lower lip. Everyone else thought she was just deep in thought, but it actually meant she hated what her own mind was creating. She sighed, "It might be the only way to keep them out of detention with her."

"What do you mean, Miss Granger?" questioned a suspicious Snape.

Draco gasped. He cocked an eyebrow at Hermione, and when she nodded her head at him, he smirked. "It could work," he admitted. "I've gotta admit, Granger; that's pretty Slytherin of you."

"What's pretty Slytherin of her?" Ron asked. He was confused.

Hermione sighed again. "I don't like it, but it's our only option. We need all of the other professors to assign detentions. As long as we keep the students in detention with you lot, they won't get the time to serve hers."

Everyone stared at Hermione with dropped jaws, while Snape and McGonagall had a silent conversation with one another. After a few minutes, they both nodded their heads. "It could work," McGonagall announced. "We'll talk to the other professors."

Draco sat there, continuing to listen to them talk about what happened on Valentine's Day. It was over with already, but they still talked about it because it was the day that Harry broke up with Cho for Ginny. It was Ginny's idea, really. Apparently, on the real day, Cho broke up with Harry because he wanted to leave their date to meet up with Hermione for an apparent interview with Rita Skeeter that she had set up for him. Cho got all jealous because Harry has no tact, and she broke up with him. This Valentines was different though. Hermione still made the appointment with Rita Skeeter because it was good on Harry's part to let people know his side of the story, while Xenophilius Lovegood printed it out in the Quibbler. Instead of going out with Cho to Hogsmeade though, Ginny forced Harry to break up with her in the morning, so that they could go out together. Ginny apparently did not care that Harry would be breaking up with the unsuspecting witch on Valentine's Day; Ginny seemed to think it was fit and justified for Cho simply just existing. Harry had no choice but to agree with Ginny, because he was afraid of the redheaded witch.

It amused everyone, except for Harry and Ginny, how good Cho was at hexes. She wasn't bitter enough to drop out of Dumbledore's Army, but she was bitter enough to hex Harry in front of his face, and attempt to hex Ginny behind her back. Ginny still had the _'I will not attempt to kill girls for Potter'_ carved into the back of her hand. It was Cho's downfall when she tried to hex Ginny; but it was Ginny's downfall when she successfully hexed Cho in front of Umbridge. It was a scar she wore with pride though. Since then, Cho still showed up for DA meetings, but she stayed away from Harry and Ginny unless she had to.

Draco listened while Snape and McGonagall assured them that they'll convince the other professors to assign numerous amounts of detentions, and then they saw the portrait open up. "Fred! George!" Ginny grinned.

Grinning back, the twins both held large boxes in their hands. "We've come with goodies."

"Messers Weasleys," McGonagall lifted one eyebrow, "What are you two doing here?"

"We're here with goodies," George said, continuing to grin. His eyes met Draco's, "Good to see you've finally come to your senses, Malfoy."

"Yeah," Fred said, also still grinning, "We heard you're one of us now. Congratulations on no longer being a prat."

Chuckling, Draco shook his head, "What's in the box?"

"Goodies!" the twins said together, as if no one could understand them the first two times they said it.

Carefully peering into the box, Snape frowned. "What kind of… goodies?"

"Ahh… well, we came up with a way-"

"-to prevent poor Marietta from giving up-"

"-secrets of the army-"

Together, they both started to pass out tiny clear colored patches. "Anti-Veritaserum-Patches!"

Fred frowned, "We're working on a better name."

"Anti-Veritaserum-Patches?" questioned Neville, staring at the square shaped patch in his hand.

George nodded his head. "Tomorrow is the day when Marietta gives away the information to Dumbridge," even Snape and McGonagall snickered at the name for the toad-like headmistress, "So we decided to create something that makes the user immune to the effects of the Veritaserum."

"We tried making pills or sweets, like most of our other products, but we kept getting sick when we would eat it then drink the potion," Fred added. "So then we decided on the patches. We finished them last night, but it works. We've tested it on Charlie and Sirius just to make sure we weren't somehow immune to the effects of the potion after two weeks of testing products."

"We're working on other shapes," George continued, "But for now, we're in a rush. We brought over two-hundred; it should be enough for now."

"Just put them on your hip," Fred instructed them, "And the clearness of it allows it to blend in with your skin. With the way it blends in with the user's skin, and the location of it, Umbridge won't realize you're wearing it. She won't suspect a thing."

"It lasts for twelve hours," George warned them. "After the twelve hours are up, it sort of warms up to let you know that its time is up, and then it just dissolves on its own, so that way you don't have to worry about taking it off."

Everyone's jaw was hanging open. Snape and McGonagall had saucer-like eyes while Ginny was smirking. They always knew they twins were geniuses, but to create a patch that would render the user immune to the effects of a truth potion? Where did they come up with ideas like that? "So, you two created a patch to help prevent Marietta from being forced to tell Umbridge the truth tomorrow?"

They nodded their heads in unison. "Just hand them out tonight, and make sure everyone puts it on in the morning. Once their patches dissolves have them put on another one just to be sure they aren't caught off guard late at night."

"This is brilliant," Hermione said in awe, her eyes twinkling at the product in her hands. "Are you going to sell this in your shop?"

"We were thinking about it," the twins both nodded their heads, "But it might be illegal. What if a Death Eater buys our product then uses it to fool the Ministry?"

Blaise nodded his head, "You two could end up in Azkaban."

"Exactly," Fred nodded in agreement.

George, however, had a dreamy look on his face that could rival Luna's, "Which is why we're only going to share this with members of the Order and the DA for now. After this all ends, we're going to come up with a product that senses the patches. For now, we made it where Filch's wands and sensors won't catch it, but we're going to create something that does."

"That's genius," Ron exclaimed! "Sell the patches to anybody, then sell the sensors to the Ministry."

"Exactly."

"Well, then," Fred announced, "We need to head back."

"Yeah," George was already heading towards the portrait, "Sirius and Charlie are over at Fleur's while Bill's at Gringotts. They don't know we left yet."

"Who's with Tonya?" Draco asked them.

"Remus," opening the portrait, they both waved, "Well, see ya'. Let Remus and Tonks know how it works the next time you see them."

Draco continued staring at the object in his hands. They all were. No one said anything after the twins left; they were all too stunned at what the twins had created. Draco was staring at the patch, but his mind was on something else. Since the night that Remus told them they couldn't break into Gringotts without a goblin, he's been trying to come up with ideas to help them out. He was a part of their team now; he should be able to attribute something to them... _Bill's at Gringotts,_ he didn't know why, but George's statement kept jumping back up at him. _Bill's at Gringotts…_

_Bill's at Gringotts… _"I can hand them out to the Ravenclaws," Luna's words broke Draco's thoughts, causing him to snap his head towards her.

"And we can pass them out to the Gryffindors," Ginny stated, pointing at most of the room.

"I can try to get some to the Hufflepuffs," Neville offered, _Bill's at Gringotts… _"I'm close with a few of them because of Herbology."

McGonagall cleared her throat, "Severus and I could pass some out during our classes, and we could have Pomona pass some out to her students as well."

_Bill's at Gringotts… _"No," it was Blaise who disagreed with the professor, "It's too dangerous for you. If we get caught we'll just get detention. You could all lose your jobs, and the students need you."

Hermione cocked her head to Blaise, "No way, Blaise. You and Draco can't hand them out either. You're both Slytherins, and part of the Inquisitorial Squad; you'll be killed. That's much worse than detention or getting fired." _Bill's at Gringotts…_

"Really Hermione?" teased Harry. "I thought getting expelled was worse than death?"

Turning a light shade of red, Hermione puffed out her chest. "I was eleven, Harry. Leave me alone."

_Bill's at Gringotts…_ "We can 'and them out," Seamus assured his boyfriend, "Don't worry, love."

Draco stared at both Ron and Ginny while they laughed about their rule-breaker brothers actually doing something good for once. _Bill's at Gringotts…_ "I always knew they were brilliant," Ginny stated, "But this is beyond just brilliant."

_Bill's at Gringotts… _"If only they put this much effort into school," McGonagall sighed. The pride at the Weasley twins being from her house was obvious in her face.

_Bill's at Gringotts…_ "Remember when they-" _Bill's at Gringotts…_

_ Bill's at Gringotts_… George's words were overpowering Draco's mind now, and it was all the Draco could hear. He tried to shake it out, but it became a mantra in his mind: _Bill's at Gringotts… Bill's at Gringotts… Bill's at Gringotts… Bill's at Gringotts… Bill's at Gringotts… Bill's at Gringotts… Bill's at… Bill's at Gringotts?_ "Bill's at Gringotts?"

Everyone lifted their heads to look up at Draco who just blurted out the random question. Ron nodded his head, "Yeah, he works there."

"I know that," Draco frowned. He suddenly gasped. "Bill's at Gringotts…" he jumped up. "Isn't he a Curse Breaker?"

Ginny nodded her head, "Yeah, he-"

"Bill's at Gringotts!" Draco laughed, cutting a confused Ginny off. "I gotta go," he announced, running towards the door. "Bill's at Gringotts…" he was still laughing while running out of the room; leaving a room full of confused people behind him.

Bill was in a somewhat foul mood by the time he returned to Grimmauld Place. Sirius and Remus were sitting in the kitchen and talking about something that James once did while they were still in school, and the twins were laughing in the sitting room while watching Tonya and Charlie play a game of Wizard's Chess. The pieces that Tonya was using belonged to Sirius, and they all seemed to be trying to impress her. Charlie's pieces seemed to want to impress her too, and they were strutting about the board; ignoring Charlie's demands for them.

Looking up from the game, Tonya saw Bill. "Hey, Bill."

He smiled down at her, "Hey, Tonya."

"What's wrong with you?" she asked him. She was frowning at the look in his eyes.

Sighing, Bill threw himself down onto the chair. Remus and Sirius were walking out of the kitchen, and towards him. "Some woman came into the bank today," he explained. "She started accusing the goblins of stealing galleons out of her vault. The goblins lost their cool with her, and one of them tried to attack her. The security wizards stopped him with their wands, and then one of the other goblins accused the wizard of mutiny, and just a bunch of other things."

"Wow," Remus frowned. "Is the woman alright?"

"She's in St. Mungos. Tonks and Kingsley arrived with the other Aurors who were called to the scene. It's just been a very long day. So how did it go at Fleur's?"

Sirius looked over at Charlie, who smirked. "Mum was there."

Bill began gasping for air. "What? Why?"

"Well, according to Tonya, Mum hated Fleur in the beginning, until she proved that she wasn't going to leave you just because you were scarred. So now, Mum already loves her. When we got there they were looking at the old album."

Groaning, Bill, shook his head. "It's just not my day."

"I don't know," Sirius grinned. "Fleur seemed to enjoy them. She even cooed at the potty training ones."

Feeling sorry for Bill, and sort of in awe at how his face was redder than his hair, Tonya decided to change the topic. "The twins went to Hogwarts today."

"We gave them the patches," Fred nodded his head. "McGonagall and Snape looked confused."

"Could it be because you two never paid any attention in their classes?" snorted Charlie.

George shrugged his shoulders, "They're gonna hand it out tonight so the DA members will all be using it from the time they leave their common rooms in the morning."

"I think it's brilliant that you two came up with them," Remus admitted. When he was a professor at Hogwarts he always saw the Marauders in the twins, but now he was starting to see a bit of himself and Lily as well. He always only saw James and Sirius, but it was nice to know they were exceptionally bright when they were passionate about something. "It's really going to help the DA out."

Chuckling, Tonya looked up at the twins, "Exactly. And what's the point in trying to follow anything anymore. I mean, we're already changing the future, so why not re-write the past as well."

"Exactly!" Fred beamed. "We're only changing history!"

Hearing a tapping noise on his window, Bill was confused. Owls couldn't find Grimmauld Place unless they knew where to go, and there weren't a lot of owls who did. Jumping out of his bed, he walked towards the window, and became even more confused. Why was Harry sending Hedwig to him? Weren't the owls at Hogwarts being watched? Quickly allowing the snowy owl inside of his room, he took the rolled up letter from her.

Allowing Hedwig to drink water from his cup, Bill sat on the edge of his bed and began to read the letter.

_Bill,_

_ Do not let Tonya read this, or find it… she'll recognize my handwriting. You cannot reply by letter through Hedwig either; I was able to sneak her out of the castle because of my position on the Inquisitorial Squad, but there's no guarantee that I'll be the one who checks her when she returns. And I couldn't use any other owl because Hedwig is the only one who knows where to find you – or else I would have used my own; he never gets checked. Harry knows I'm using his owl though, so it's fine._

_ You must be wondering why I'm writing to you, of all people? Remus explained to us that all of you know about me by now (of how I know the truth) and I know about the dilemma about breaking into Gringotts. I've got the solution. It came to me today while your brothers were dropping off the patches. George mentioned how you work at Gringotts, and I remembered from my future memories that you're a Curse Breaker. You can get into the vault – _**YOU**_can!_

_ You're a Curse Breaker, and the Lestrange vault is known for belonging to the notorious Death Eaters. The goblins and the Curse Breakers have every right to check inside of the vaults whenever they feel like it, just to ensure nothing is wrong in there. Because you're new to the London branch of Gringotts you could make it seem like you want to do a mandatory check up on all of the vaults. You could claim that you just want to make sure your predecessor did a thorough job of it. Seeing as how both the owners are in Azkaban, you don't need to warn them you're going to do it – don't check only that vault though, and don't do it first. Do a clean sweep of other vaults as to not gain suspicion. Take items from other vaults that are faulty, so when you leave with the goblet the goblins won't be suspicious. As an employed Curse Breaker for Gringotts, you have every right to remove an item from the vault in order to break whatever curse you need to, as long as you don't have the correct equipment on you at the time._

_ Because both my aunt and uncle are in Azkaban at the moment, they won't notify either of them, nor will they contact anyone else. No one will know about it, aside from the goblins and you. But they don't gossip, and you'll only tell the Order members._

_ It's the only option I can think of. But you'll have to do it alone – no one from the Order, or Tonya, can do it with you. Fleur's not a Curse Breaker so she can't either. Make sure you talk to Tonya about what the goblet looks like exactly, to ensure you don't grab the wrong one. And don't grab only the goblet – grab a bunch of cursed items from that vault, as to not raise any suspicion about why it's taking so long to return it. Slowly return the others, so that way you have enough time to keep this one until the battle._

_ Tonya's a very nosy person, from what my dreams tell me, so make sure you convince her that this has been bugging you for a while, and you just realized it's the only way to make it work._

_ You can contact me through Tonks or Remus, or if you come to Hogwarts on your own._

_ -DM_

Tonya was grinning. She was excited. Keeping her hands on the tiny little baby bump that was now starting to show, she looked up at Bill with a wide grin. This was it… it was perfect… they found a way inside of the vault now. It's been two days since he came home annoyed because of the goblin attacking the witch incident at work, and now he's presented all of them with this idea. It was the perfect ending to a wonderful day.

Harry somehow got them a letter stating that the twins' patches worked and that Marietta didn't out the DA. It was perfect because they weren't caught, and they could continue to secretly train without being caught. Now they were hearing that Bill found the perfect way to break into the Lestrange vault, and he could get paid while doing it. There wouldn't be any more stories of how Hermione, Ron, and Harry broke into Gringotts and escaped on a dragon, but it would still work out perfectly because everything was working for them, finally.

**It was interesting to hear everyone's guesses at who the killer was, and nobody got it right… (well one reader did, but we messaged each other, and she kept guessing until I said yes, but she knows she got it right)**

**I hope you guys liked this chapter, and the way that Draco came up with the idea on how to break into Gringotts. Please review, we've reached 90, and I really want to hit 100 before the next chapter(:**


	22. Identical Even In Thoughts

Identical In Even Thoughts

_"What on earth are you doing?"_

_ Tonya walked in to find George on his hands and knees. In his hands was a scrubber that looked closely similar to the one they washed the dishes with, and next to him was a bucket filled with soapy water. Dressed in an old t-shirt that fell to his knees, and a pair of old sweats, George was frantically scrubbing the floor beneath him. Realizing that he was no longer alone he paused what he was doing and knelt on his knees to stare up at Tonya. _

_ "I'm cleaning," he replied._

_ Rolling her eyes, Tonya didn't care that she was wearing a nice dress and knelt down; her knees soaking up the soap bubbles. "I can see that," she told him. "But why are you in my apartment, cleaning my floor?"_

_ "Because I finished cleaning my own flat."_

_ Not satisfied with the response she was given, Tonya folded her arms over her chest. "Okay… and why are you cleaning?"_

_ "Because I don't know what else to do," sighing, George chose to start scrubbing the floor again. "Angelina owled me."_

_ "Angelina?" thinking back to all of the people that she met since she's joined the wizarding world, she remembered meeting a dark skinned woman with bright brown eyes and a broken smile. "The pretty one?" George paused for a second, then started to clean again. "Right, I remember her. She's your age isn't she?"_

_ George nodded his head. "She was on the Gryffindor Quidditch team."_

_ "So why does her owling you have you scrubbing floors in other people's apartments?"_

_ "She wants to meet up for lunch."_

_ "Okay?"_

_ "She… she's Fred's girlfriend."_

_ "Oh," standing up, Tonya realized what was wrong with George. Walking to her kitchen, she dug underneath the sink until she found another scrubber._

_ George continued to frantically scrub at the floor, trying to curl up the tiles. "What are you doing?" he asked Tonya, not stopping his own movements._

_ "I'm helping you clean," she shrugged her shoulders. "Whose place are we doing next? I'm sure Narcissa would love for her floors to be scrubbed," when George lifted an eyebrow at her, Tonya simply said "It could probably take us three whole days just to finish that one, but what about when we're finished? Then where are we gonna go? Are we gonna just scrub floors forever?"_

_ "I'm planning on it," he nodded his head._

_ "Got it."_

_ They scrubbed the floor in silence. Tonya even turned away from George so she could reach the part of the floor underneath the counters. Her apartment wasn't filthy, but scrubbing on your hands and knees with a scrubber is different from using a mop – maybe she should do this once a month… maybe even every two weeks? From behind her she could hear the tiny little bristles from George's scrubber as it was scraped against her tiled floor. She heard about Fred – the identical twin to George, George's other half, the one who finished the sentences left unsaid, a young brave boy who was killed in the war, a hero. Draco told her all about the Weasley twins every time he mentioned Hogwarts. Tonya came into the wizarding world knowing all about them, and when she finally met George for the first time, it was weird knowing she would only ever know one half of the twins that Draco secretly looked up to from the time he was only eleven years old. Draco had no siblings, but he confided in her that he's always wished he had brothers like the Weasley twins – brothers who protected him no matter how much of a git he was, brothers who knew how to make him laugh even when he was frightened, brothers who he could talk to no matter how different they were, and brothers that he could look up to. Draco admired the twins, but he never had the chance to tell them so. Meeting George Weasley for the first time was so different from what Tonya expected. He wasn't cheerful, he didn't smile, and he was by himself; always allowing sentences to linger, leaving you to guess what the end of it was meant to be._

_ It's been six months since meeting George; six months since entering the wizarding world with Draco – a year and a week since meeting Draco… a year and a week since the second wizarding world that took the life of many great people, and even horrible people… a year and a week since Harry killed Voldemort once and for all. On the anniversary of the war, Tonya accompanied Draco and all of the other survivors to Hogwarts so they could have a sort of wand waving ceremony for all of the innocents who were killed while trying to protect people like her. Tonya had no wand to wave, and it was Harry who handed her a white candle that he conjured out of midair just for her. George wasn't there, and neither was that Angelina girl, but all of the other Weasleys were; even Narcissa showed up. Lucius felt that his presence wasn't wanted, so he mourned his bad decisions by himself in the manor. Draco and his mum stood by Narcissa's sister Andromeda, and they conjured up flowers to place on his cousin's name – a cousin that died thinking he was the enemy. Tonya left the 'Blacks' to mourn over Tonks and Remus, while Andromeda held her only grandchild tightly in her arms and cried about how much she missed his mother. Tonya walked the entire place until she found the name she was searching for: _Fredrick Gideon "Forge" Weasley_. Looking around, she noticed that nobody was standing by his name just yet, so she walked forward and placed her candle there – silently whispering and thanking him for being a role model to the boy that he couldn't stand. She thanked him for being someone to look up to without realizing it, and she promised him that she would look after his twin. She told him that she knew he didn't know her, but that she tried to be a good person, and that she would look after George the way he unknowingly looked after Draco. After telling him goodbye, Tonya stood up and turned to walk away. Hearing a whooshing sound behind her, she turned to look back and smiled when she saw that the flame of her candle had went from yellow to green – Fred heard her, and he had accepted her._

_ "I mean why does she want to meet me for lunch?" _

_ Lifting her head up from the spot she had been scrubbing for ten minutes while thinking back to the candle, Tonya saw that George had stopped scrubbing completely and was now sitting up and staring at her. "Were you friends?" she casually asked._

_ "We met on the train in our very first year," he nodded his head. "Fred and I were sitting in a compartment by ourselves, and she walked in. She seemed pretty nervous, but asked if she could sit with us. When Fred and I asked her what house she wanted to be in, she looked confused. Realizing she was a muggle-born we began to tell her all about the wizarding world, and how we were going to be in Gryffindor. When she asked how we knew we explained that Weasleys and Prewitts are always in Gryffindor. She said she hoped she was in Gryffindor too then, and then she asked if we had any sports. That was when Lee walked in, and the four of us all became best friends. Lee was a muggle-born too, so Fred and I told them all about Quidditch. In our second year, we all tried out. Lee was the only one who didn't make the team, but he decided he'd rather be a commenter instead and that's what he did. Angelina made other friends, but she was still really close to the three of us. She and Fred started to date in our sixth year, when he asked her to the yule ball."_

_ Tonya smiled as she listened to his story. She always wondered how he and Fred met Lee. "She didn't show up to the memorial either," she told him. "I don't think she could have faced it."_

_ "I didn't think she would," George admitted with tears in his eyes. He was getting better at mentioning Fred now, but this seemed to be taking a toll on him. "She loved him as much as I did."_

_ "No," Tonya shook her head. "You are his twin, George. Even your mum couldn't love him as much as you did, but I don't doubt how much Angelina did love him. I remember when I first met her at the Burrow, I caught her in your old room crying over a picture of him. She was sitting on your bed, and crying at a picture of Fred. She looked up and saw me, and that was when I realized who she was. She loves him George, but not as much as you."_

_ "She loves him the way a woman loves a man," George sighed. "That's a type of love that even twins can't defeat."_

_ Putting her scrubber down, Tonya crossed her legs and stared at the broken, one-eared man in front of her. "Do you hate her?" she asked him in a soft voice. "Do you hate Angelina because you feel that if Fred were still alive she would have taken him from you?"_

_ "I hate her because she never will," George shook his head. Running a dirt-filled soapy hand through his hair, he released a scornful scoff. "It's pathetic right. I hate my best friend because she'll never be able to love my brother the way she should, because he's dead now. Fred had plans for her. He wanted to propose on her twenty-second birthday, but that's never going to happen now. She turns twenty-two in five months, and Fred will never propose to her. She was supposed to make him happy by becoming his bride, but that will never happen now."_

_ "It isn't fair to hate her," Tonya pointed out. "She didn't know, and if she did it would probably make her feel even more miserable. Maybe she wants to meet up with you for lunch because you're the only other person she can think of who's as broken as she is. Angelina loved your brother, George, and she needs to see him again… even if it's only through you."_

_ "That's what I'm afraid of," he whispered. "She loves Fred now, but what if she stops?"_

_ "You're afraid that she'll stop loving Fred, and she'll fall in love with you?" Tonya asked; not sure if she heard him correctly._

_ "I look just like him," he nodded his head. "She's broken because she misses him, and I'm broken too. We both need love, Tonya, but we don't deserve it. We can't find love, because we'll be betraying him."_

_ "Don't you think that he would want his brother and his girlfriend to be happy?" she asked him, thinking back to the candle's flame. "He may be jealous in the beginning, but I think that once he sees how happy you two are making each other, he'll get over it. And besides, it's just lunch, George; you don't know that she wants to fall in love with you."_

_ Smiling for the first time since this conversation started, George shook his head. "No one knows Angelina as well as Fred and I did. Even when they were dating she couldn't tell the difference. She'll want to stay close to me so she can feel close to Fred until she can learn to separate us. She'll cry when she sees me because she misses Fred, but then she'll slowly start to laugh again, then she'll smile, then she'll see me and only me. She'll move on, and Fred will become an ex that she misses but wouldn't want to be with again."_

_ "And how do you feel about that? How do you feel knowing that she'll only want to use you in the beginning until she falls in love with you for being you, and not because you resemble your twin?"_

_ George was quiet for a while, then he slowly let out a breath that Tonya didn't notice he was holding. "I feel wanted," he admitted, "Like I'll be able to do something useful."_

_ "You don't mind it because you'll be using her the same way she'll be using you," Tonya smiled with realization. "It's a weird way to start a relationship, but if it'll help you to heal I think you should meet up with her."_

_ "But what if Fred doesn't want us to move on from him?"_

_ "Was Fred that sort of person?" Tonya cocked an eyebrow. "From everything I heard about him, I thought he was a kindhearted person who loved everybody – with the few exceptions – but would he be selfish enough to not want you to move on from him? Is he the kind of guy who would want the two people who loves him unconditionally to remain miserable until they join him?"_

_ A flame emerged in George's eyes and he looked like he wanted to hex the muggle girl in front of him. "Of course not! Fred never thought about himself! He always put other people before him! You don't know him; you're just a stupid muggle who's in love with a stupid Death Eater. You don't know Fred!"_

_ Standing up, Tonya didn't let his words hurt her. Simply smiling, she nodded her head. "Then owl the one other person who does."_

"Uh-oh!" Tonya stood in the doorway, staring down at Fred.

On his hands and knees, Fred was currently scrubbing the floor with what looked like a giant brush that he must have conjured out of thin air. Remembering the time when she caught his twin doing the very same thing in her apartment, Tonya looked down at the slight bump poking out of her shirt. They were the only two in Grimmauld Place today, and Tonya didn't know what to do. Her first instinct was to owl George to leave the Burrow and come comfort his twin, but then she figured that Fred didn't want George to know what was bothering him. She couldn't owl Bill because he was currently at work trying to go ahead with his plan of searching random vaults in Gringotts, Charlie was with Sirius scouring through Hogsmeade under the guise of a wizard walking his dog through the village, and Remus was at the Burrow with George; discussing Bill's current job with Molly and Arthur. There was nobody else around for her to call to talk to Fred, and she couldn't just leave him alone.

"It isn't normal to talk to yourself," Fred said suddenly, interrupting Tonya's thoughts. "Even in the wizarding world, it's a sign that you're mental."

Blushing, Tonya entered the room and sat next to the troubled boy on the floor. "I caught George doing this once," she told him. "It was the first time he really opened up to me, and the first time that I actually saw him with a fire in his eyes."

"What happened?"

"I asked him if you were a selfish person."

Fred's eyes met hers, and he knew that Tonya had a reason to ask his twin the question, but he could see the hurt in her eyes as though she didn't want to remember that day. "I think I am," he finally sighed. When Tonya frowned in confusion, Fred sat up and leaned back on his hands. "I got an owl from Angelina today."

"Oh," despite the situation, Tonya couldn't hide her smile. It seemed that Miss Johnson was the one person who brought the Weasley twins to a confused depression that caused them to scrub floors.

"She wants to know if I can sneak out of hiding one day to meet up for lunch. She knows that we're on the run from the Ministry, but she misses me too much."

"And you want to," Tonya realized. "You love her."

"I do," he grinned. "I want to propose to her, ya know. On her twenty-second birthday. I remember Angelina talking about it one day; her cousin got married when she was twenty, and she thinks it's the stupidest thing in the world. Angelina told me she doesn't even want to think about marriage until she's twenty-two."

Remembering when George told her that his brother wanted to propose to Angelina on her twenty-second birthday, Tonya grinned when it dawned on her that this was the reason why. "That's a beautiful reasoning."

"I pulled away from her when we went back to Hogwarts," Fred admitted. "I kept thinking about the future, and every time I looked at her I saw the pictures of her and George. I saw how happy she was with my brother, and I realized that she smiled in a way that she doesn't smile with me," when he looked up, Tonya saw the shine of unshed tears in his eyes. "I always thought we would be together. She was a part of us in first year; George, Lee, and I – Angelina was the fourth to our little group; we were inseparable."

Tonya nodded her head, and subconsciously began to rub her stomach. "George told me you guys met on the train in your first year," she smiled at the memory of hearing the story for the first time. "He said that she asked if she could sit with you guys, and you both knew she was nervous so you asked her what house she wanted to be in. Once you guys realized she was a muggle-born, you both started to talk all about the wizarding world to make her more comfortable. Angelina told me that she'll never forget the shine in your eyes when you explained Quidditch to her."

"You talked to her about me?"

Tonya nodded her head. "She was so in love with you, Fred. When I returned to the wizarding world with Draco, I already knew Harry, Hermione, and Ginny. Draco had to do something one night for the Ministry, so Ginny took me to the Burrow for dinner. I was looking for the bathroom and I heard somebody crying in one of the bedrooms. It was Angelina. Your mum them started to invite her over to the Burrow after the war, because they feared she would do something stupid like kill herself. When I walked into the room she was sitting on George's bed, cradling a picture of you and crying over it. It took her a while to realize I was in there with her, but when she saw me she said that when she heard Harry was dead, it didn't hit her. She didn't care that the savior of the wizarding world was dead, because all she could think about was how she would finally be killed and she would be with you once again."

"Angelina's a strong person," Fred shook his head. "She wouldn't think like that."

"But she did," Tonya told him. "She loved you Fred; more than she lets on right now, but she does. And when you were killed she didn't know what to do. She refused to return to the muggle world because everybody in her family was so happy and she didn't want to bring them down, but she felt alone in the wizarding world without you. Angelina became lost, and she had nowhere to go. Katie took her in, but it wasn't enough. When she would come to the Burrow for dinners with your family she felt like an intruder."

"George was there for her."

"He wasn't," Tonya's head slightly shook. "George was just as lost as her. You're more than just his twin brother, Fred, you're his soul mate; his other half. When you were killed, George felt as if he was killed too. Bill, Charlie, Percy, and Ron all took turns going to your guys' apartment just to make sure he remembered to eat and shower. Ginny and Hermione helped him with the shop for a bit, and even Lee came around to make sure he was still breathing. I went to the one year mark on the day of the war, and George wasn't there. He couldn't go; neither could Angelina. It was one week after the day that I found him in my apartment scrubbing my floors."

Fred was frowning. He didn't like hearing how his death affected his twin and girlfriend so much. From the pictures that he'd seen of them they were so happy; so why did Tonya make it sound like they haven't spoken to each other? "What was wrong with him?"

"Angelina wanted to meet him for lunch," she explained. "She needed to talk to somebody, and George was the only person she knew who would know what she was going through. George didn't want to."

"Why not?" Fred scowled. "Angelina was broken, and she needed somebody there for her."

"George told me that he knew her well enough to know that she would turn to him for comfort. He said that he knew she was going to start to fall in love with him to bring her closer to you, and he said he couldn't do that. Not to you," Tonya sighed. "George knew that if he met up with Angelina, he would use her the way she was using him. He knew they would use each other to cope with losing you, and that they would eventually fall in love and move on. He didn't want to though. He knew how much you loved her, and he couldn't hurt you like that."

Fred nodded his head in understanding. "You asked him if I was selfish, because you wanted him to meet her. You wanted them to move on."

"I made you a promise," Tonya nodded her head with him. "The day at Hogwarts, I placed a candle next to your name, and I thanked you. You saved Draco, Fred; you and George. You may not know it, but it's you two that gave him the strength to stay alive through his struggles, so I thanked you, and then I made a promise to you. I promised to save George, the same way you saved Draco. And I intended on keeping that promise."

"I'd like to think I'm not a selfish person," Fred said after a long pause, "I would like to say that I'm happy my brother ended up with Angelina. If I died again, then I would want them to find happiness in each other, and move on from me, but-"

Tonya caught the 'but' in his sudden silence. Feeling movement inside of her, she fluttered her eyes at the now pale faced Fred. "-but now that you're alive, you don't know if you want to stay with Angelina, or let her go now so that she and your brother can still find each other?"

Fred stayed silent, and it was in that moment when Tonya realized how much he was holding in. When she came back to the past she had horrible news for all of them: Sirius dies, Dumbledore dies, Mad Eye dies, Hedwig dies, George loses an ear, Hermione's tortured, Fred dies, Snape dies, Remus dies, Tonk dies, Lavender dies, Colin dies… so many people die, and so much scars are left back, but then there's the good news: Tonks and Remus has a son, Voldemort is killed, Harry and Ginny are engaged, Neville and Luna are married, Hermione and Ron are engaged, Bill and Fleur are having a daughter, and then there's George… George is marrying his dead twin's girlfriend. Tonya knew people were broken when she showed up, but it didn't dawn on her how Fred would feel about learning everything.

"Does that make me a selfish person?" Fred asked; watching as Tonya rubbed her stomach and winced. "Is it wrong of me to want to keep my girlfriend now that I'm going to live?"

Tonya shook her head, "And I don't think you want to keep her, either."

"Why not?"

"Because you told me that you've been ignoring her since you returned from the Christmas break. If you wanted to keep her you would've made sure to never let her go." Fred sighed. "I can't explain how much I love her, Tonya, but then I keep thinking of how happy George makes her. Does he love her?"

"Yes," she smiled while thinking back to her friends back home. "They can read each other's minds so well, but they haven't forgotten about you. George proposed on her twenty-second birthday, and he explained to her that it was the proposal you planned. He made sure he told her how much you loved her. He added in his own admission of love, but he wanted her to know how far you wanted to go with her."

"How can you do it?" Fred asked suddenly, not wanting to think about his brother following his plans for Angelina. "How can you play with your stomach, and sit in a world knowing you're about to lose the only person you ever loved. I know you ran into Draco a couple of times, and I know that you spoke with him, so how can you do it? You have him right there in your fingertips, but you keep walking. How can you just give him up like that?"

Tonya felt the wetness on her cheeks before she realized she was crying. "Because I know that if I don't, he won't live. His life is more important than my sanity."

"You don't even question it," Fred whispered in awe. "You just know it's the right thing to do, and you do it without hesitation. You sacrifice yourself so the one you love can live."

"You don't need to give up Angelina," Tonya told him. "She doesn't know about the future. The Angelina right now doesn't know that you're changing her outcome with a different twin. She and George found love because they were grieving over you. If you stay with her, she'll never know."

"But_ I_ will," Fred said with a watery smile. "I'll look at her every day, and think about how she married the wrong twin. I love her, but George will too. I'll know, and so will George."

"George doesn't love her like that," Tonya assured him. "Not now."

Fred's head shook, and he stood up. "I see the way he looks at the pictures," he sighed. "It's a future that he's starting to dream of. But this is what we do right? We give up our own lives so the ones that we love can remain happy? I mean Angelina and George found love in each other once, so who's to say they aren't meant to be?"

Sitting there on the floor, Tonya watched as Fred walked up the stairs to the floor that his room was on. Feeling the movement inside of her, she sighed and looked up at the clock on the wall. Maybe if she fell asleep right here on the floor, Charlie would wake her up when he came home. She felt drained all of a sudden… her heart ached and her child knew that she was about to become depressed at the idea of what Fred was about to do, so it decided to kick her until she fell asleep. This child was definitely a Malfoy.

_(In The Future)_

The beautiful black woman was sitting on the floor of her own flat. Surrounding her were pictures of her younger days in Hogwarts. Since she found out about the murder of Draco Malfoy, she's been thinking about Tonya and Fred. Fred's been on her mind a lot lately, and she asked Harry to make sure she kept her memories of everything that happened originally. She knew that no one in the year 1995 was going to fill her seventh year self in on anything that was going on, but she was starting to get memories of her boyfriend ignoring her, and she had a new memory of owling Fred to meet up with her somewhere. Her younger self was going to question Fred about why he was avoiding her, and she was panicking at the thought of him cheating on her. The old version of herself knew he would never do that, but her younger self was a little silly girl in love and scared that her boyfriend was hiding something from her. Sighing as she looked at the pictures surrounding her, she heard a crackling sound and turned around; surprised to see Kreacher.

"Master Fred gives this letter to Misses Angelina," the house-elf told her in his croaky voice.

Hearing Fred's name, Angelina took in a deep breath. "Is this from the past, Kreacher?"

The house-elf nodded his head. "Yes Misses. And Kreacher needs to go back. Misses Tonya is sleeping on the floor, and Kreacher needs to watch her."

Nodding her head at him, Angelina smiled. "Thank you."

She waited until the house-elf was gone, then she ripped the envelope open without hesitation. She felt her tears fall as she started to read it.

_Angelina,_

_ You owled me to meet me, and I know you enough to know what's going through your mind. Every part of me wants to be selfish and keep you to myself. I won't die this time around, and I know I'll be in your future. I want to be in your future as your fiancé, but I can't do that to you. I'm sorry this letter is damp, but I'm crying while writing it. I love you Angelina, I truly do, but I see the way George stares at the pictures from the future, and I watched the way he watched you after we returned to Hogwarts. Things are changing, and now would be the time to keep you away from my twin, but after talking to Tonya, and noticing how George acts when it comes to you, I know I can't do it._

_ I could change the future so easily; I could make it where you never even knew you were once engaged to George. I want to do that. I want to do that so badly, but I can't. I can't bring myself to take something away from you when I hear how you finally managed to move on. I don't know what kind of life I would give you in the future, but I know how happy you are with the life you currently have. I'm going to meet you in three days, but I'm bringing George with me. We're going to tell you the truth, and then I'm going to leave you._

_ I don't want to, and your seventeen year old self will hex me, but I think I know that your future self will thank me. I don't want you to think I'm giving you up because I don't love you, because I do. You're the only girl I'll ever love. I may or may not have someone else in the new future, but I promise I'll never love her the way I love you. You may be wondering why I'm doing this if I love you so much, but it's because I look at the pictures of you and George, then the pictures of us, and you smile brighter when with him. Our love is forever, Angelina, but your love with George is eternal._

_ It hurts to give you up like this, but then I look at Tonya and I see how much she's sacrificing in turn, and I realize I'll live through this. If she can give up everything, I can manage losing my love to my twin; and if there's anybody I'd want to lose you to, it's George. I know he'll never hurt you, and I'll still have you in my life. Instead of being my wife though, you'll be my sister-in-law._

_ Know that you can always come to me though. We'll still be best friends, but it'll take a while. I'll see you again Angelina. I won't die this time, and now that I know you'll be waiting for a George with two ears, I promise he'll return as well. Just promise me that in turn for my heartache, you'll name your first born child after me!_

_ I love you,_

_ Fred!_

_ Oh, and tell Harry them that the baby is starting to kick Tonya. Also, I think that if our plans fail and Tonya and Draco don't end up back together, I think she's going to be with Charlie. They're always locking themselves up in the room together; even Sirius is getting suspicious of them._

Angelina was crying uncontrollably now, but she smiled at the thought of Fred letting her go early on so that she could be with George, and she nodded her head at his words. Her younger self was going to hex him, but right now… her older version; she was grateful. George did make her smile in a way that Fred didn't. She loved Fred; she always will, but she loved George in a different sense. Placing her hand on top of her stomach and chuckling at the promise Fred wanted from her, she stood up. Walking out of the room, Angelina found her fiancé sitting in the living room with Lee, Hermione, and Blaise; they were talking about the chase for the killer. He managed to slip away just in time, and now it seemed to be a race against time as they tried to catch him.

"Kreacher just brought me a letter from the past," she announced. "It's from Fred. Read it, George."

**I know that this seems too serious for Fred and George, but I always felt like Angelina was a serious topic between them, and there may be controversy about how George ended up with Angelina, but I always felt that something like this happened. I mean he wouldn't just end up with the girl he knew his twin loved; so I like to think that they sort of used each other to cope until they somehow fell in love. It isn't all that romantic, but it seems more realistic to me…**

**We hit the 100 review before I ended up in the hospital, so yayyyyyyyyyy! Thank you to all of you who favorited, reviewed, and followed this story, and let's see if we can get these numbers up. I'm still taking name suggestions for the baby, and I'm still taking guesses on who you think the killer will be. I'm amused by all the guesses I've gotten so far. Someone even thought it was Lavender. So please keep those reviews coming!(:**


	23. Moving Forward

**Thank you to all of you new readers that are reviewing, favoriting, and alerting this story; I'm glad you guys are liking this! I love to always see new names, so please keep them coming, but I'm noticing that I'm not seeing names I'm used to. It seems like I gained new readers, but I also lost the ones that have stuck with me from the beginning. Please don't break up with me guys… I'm better now… I'm not sick anymore… the story is almost pau… please… just hold on through the end… we've made it so far together…**

**Also, I need to address this real fast: In the last chapter Fred mentioned something to Angelina about Charlie and Tonya ending up together if their plan doesn't work and she doesn't get back with Draco – it's not gonna happen. Do not worry! This is very much a Draco/OC story. I don't want to spoil it for you guys or anything, but Charlie's becoming Tonya's older brother. I hope this chapter sort of fixes that for you guys! Well, here ya' go(:**

Moving Forward

Because she was pregnant, Tonya was forbidden from going anywhere near the fifth floor of the house. It was annoying because her bedroom was on the fifth floor, and she was always just a hallway down from the Horcruxes, but now that Bill was working to de-curse random cursed objects as a part of his job for both the Order and Gringotts, he decided to use the fifth floor – taking her bedroom for the task, and kicking her down to the third floor. Seeing as how her room was now next to the twins' room though, she was always hearing the explosion sounds coming from it, and it just sort of made her grumpy as well. She was tired of having to wake up in the middle of the night because of the damn sounds.

Dragging herself out of the comfort of her bed, Tonya slipped her feet into the fuzzy black and yellow slippers that Tonks gave to her for midnight trips to the bathroom, and midnight snack runs into the kitchen. Hearing a pounding sound coming from the room next to hers, she grumbled to herself about twins and their ungodly times for planning things, then slowly made her way down to the first floor. Not bothering with changing into more appropriate sleeping attires, Tonya walked through the lightly dimmed corridor in nothing more than her fuzzy house slippers and a thin strapped nightgown that reached her thighs. Not bothering to knock on the door that she found herself standing in front of, Tonya entered the room and stared at the sleeping body on the large bed.

"Charlie," she softly called his name while gently shaking him awake. "Charlie, wake up."

"Mmmm," he mumbled, rolling over from his back to his stomach so that he could snuggle with his pillow.

"Charlie, the twins are inventing something again, and it's keeping me up. Can I sleep in here?"

Grudgingly opening one eye, Charlie took in the sight in front of him then scooted over to make room for the pregnant girl. "Don't hog all the blankets," he managed to say before he was suddenly sleeping again.

"Thanks," climbing into the bed that was just as comfortable as the one from her old room and her new room, Tonya turned her back to Charlie, and found herself cradling the bump from her stomach. Making sure she had enough blanket to cover her from the cold, she whispered goodnight to both Charlie and the baby, then she was also drifting off into sleep.

_ Draco and Harry were both soaking wet from the storm that raged on outside. The skies were blackened by the clouds, and the fields were starting to form its own pond. In the beginning they feared it was work of Dementors, but they soon realized it was only horrible weather. The Aurors that weren't in Bulgaria for a case about a rogue vampire were all sent on the Dementor chase. Their entire night had been wasted for nothing, and the two former enemies were equally annoyed. Stopping at the door of the Burrow, they both quickly dried themselves off with their wands so that Molly wouldn't get irritated with them for dragging water into her home, or mother them for possibly catching a cold._

_ "I'm gonna go and check on Ginny," Harry told Draco with an exasperated voice. "When she called last night, she said she was going to sleep in her old room."_

_ Looking just as tired and drained as Harry, Draco nodded his head. "Tonya told me she was going to sleep in Percy's old room."_

_ "I hope she was able to get some sleep then," Harry yawned. "Percy's old room is right next to Fred and George's old room. Remember how Ron was telling us that George is starting to invent things again? Apparently he's staying here to work; feeling that this is where he and Fred first began creating things, and that this is where he was going to start up again."_

_ "She usually can't sleep during a storm anyway," Draco shrugged his shoulders. "Which is why she called Ginny. Tonya is afraid of thunderstorms. The sounds coming from George's room probably soothed her if anything."_

_ Following Harry up the stairs, Draco continued walking towards the third floor when Harry stopped on the second. Shaking his head when he heard the explosion sounds still coming from the twins' old room, Draco opened the door to where he knew Percy used to sleep. This was the room that he and Tonya would always claim whenever they would end up sleeping at the Burrow for something. He also knew that on the nights he, Harry, and Ron were all on a mission in another country that would last for a couple of days, their three women would always end up back at the Burrow so they could be surrounded by family. Tonya tried sleeping at the manor once, but she felt lonely in a wing by herself. Taking his shirt off while he walked towards the bed, Draco threw it on the ground next to his already discarded robes, but saw that something was stopping him from cuddling with his fiancée. She was gone – she wasn't in the bed. The bed hardly looked slept in._

_ Confused, Draco didn't bother with putting his shirt or robes back on, and left the room with only his pants on. Knocking on the door next to Percy's, he called out George's name. "Hey, mate," George said, opening it only slightly to stick his head out. "What's up?"_

_ "Is Tonya in there?"_

_ Frowning, George look confused. "Err… no? She slept in Percy's old room last night."_

_ "She didn't," Draco shook his head. "I just came from there. It doesn't look like she slept in there at all."_

_ "I don't know then," George shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe she slept with Gin last night? Tonya doesn't like storms right, so she probably wanted to sleep with a friend."_

_ Nodding his head, Draco thanked him then walked down a floor. Sighing when he stopped in front of Ginny's room, he knocked on her door. A tired looking redhead opened the door a few seconds later. "Don't tell me you guys got called back to work already," Ginny growled when she saw Draco standing there. "Harry's already dead to the world, and you don't look so good yourself. Doesn't the Ministry have anyone else to try and stop the rain?"_

_ "We weren't called in," Draco chuckled. "I was just wondering if Tonya slept with you last night. She's not in the room that's why, and George said she didn't go to his room either. He figured she might have slept with you since she hates storms so much."_

_ Yawning, Ginny shook her head. "No, she didn't come to me last night. Try Hermione. Hermione usually hates sleeping in Ron's room by herself because of the ghoul in the attic. So maybe the two of them ended up together?"_

_ "Right," thanking Ginny, Draco started to make his way all the way up to the seventh floor of the Burrow. Keeping sure to remain quiet to keep from waking anyone else up with his footsteps, Draco knocked on the door that he knew belonged to Ron. Not even one second passed by before the door swung open. Standing in a pair of too big pants, and a Chudley Cannons hoodie, was a wide eyed Hermione. "You look wide awake."_

_ Hermione nodded her head. "I can't sleep with that bloody ghoul always banging on the pipes and moaning out in agony. Normally I can handle it if someone's with me, but Ron's not here, and the thunder and rain outside aren't really helping either."_

_ "So you're alone then?" when Hermione nodded her head, Draco sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I was hoping Tonya was with you."_

_ "She isn't in the room?" Draco shook his head, and Hermione bit her bottom lip in deep thought. "And I know you must've tried both George and Ginny already. The only other rooms I can think of are Molly and Arthur's, and Charlie and Bill's old room."_

_ "Charlie," Draco's head snapped up. "Tonya wouldn't bother Molly or Arthur. She must have gone to Charlie. He's staying here isn't he?"_

_ Hermione nodded her head. "I'll walk with you. I can't sleep anyway, and I was about to head downstairs and start breakfast. George is up, you say?"_

_ "Yeah, he's working on a new invention."_

_ "I thought I heard the explosions. That must be why Tonya went to Charlie if she did."_

_ Draco nodded his head, feeling guilty for leaving his fiancée during the middle of a huge storm; knowing how she felt about them. "I figured the explosions would be a nice distraction from the thunder. I guess not though."_

_ Reaching the room that the two eldest Weasley children grew up in, Draco bid Hermione goodbye then opened the door. He already knew Tonya was in there, and Charlie was a male so he wouldn't have to worry about seeing anything indecent. Entering the room, Draco smiled at the sight in front of him. Most normal males would be beyond pissed off at the idea of their girlfriend, wife, or fiancée running to another man's bed when they couldn't sleep, but Draco found himself amused and smiling at the situation. He loved Tonya too much to get mad at her, and he trusted her with everything he had. He also knew that she would never do anything to hurt him – their relationship just didn't involve hurting the other. Charlie was also a decent bloke. There was no way that Charlie would disrespect Tonya in any sense; knowing how she felt for Draco. Charlie was just a nice guy… Tonya went to him in the middle of the night unable to sleep, so he took her in so she could feel secure until Draco came for her._

_ Curled up on her side underneath the thick red colored blanket, Tonya was hugging a pillow tightly against her chest. Charlie laid on his stomach on the other side of the bed, also covered with the blanket and drooling onto his own pillow. Quietly creeping deeper into the room, Draco knelt next to the bed and began to brush Tonya's hair out of her face with his hand. "Tonya," he called to her, "Love, wake up."_

_ Instead of Tonya opening her eyes though, Charlie groaned then sat up. "She just fell asleep 'bout an hour ago. She came in complaining that George was keeping her up all night with his bloody experiments."_

_ "Thanks," Draco grinned up at him. "I searched the twins' room, Ginny, and Hermione, then we realized she must have come to you. I thought it was the storm though."_

_ "That's what I thought at first too when she woke me up," yawning, Charlie climbed out of bed. And Draco saw that the dragon trainer was wearing only a pair of pants to sleep. "But then she told me that she was able to sleep through the storm 'cause she knew when she woke up she would see you, and that you were currently out there trying to fight it. Here, you can sleep in here so you don't have to wake her up. I'm gonna sleep in Percy's room. I sort of miss hearing the explosion sounds."_

_ Grinning again, Draco was already climbing in next to Tonya. "The sounds should be gone by now. Hermione was up all night, so she went down to make breakfast. She stopped to grab George to make sure he eats something."_

_ "Then I'll be downstairs eating," Charlie replied with a sudden awake look. _

_ Grinning to himself as he snuggled against Tonya, he heard her grunt something, reach her hand back to feel his arm then sigh in relief before relaxing her body against his. Within only mere seconds the two of them were sleeping in content._

"She really hates storms," Draco whispered to Blaise in Potions. Stirring the cauldron in front of him, he seemed to be glowing. "I knew that before, but in last night's dream I was really worried for her throughout an assignment with Potter, because it was about a big storm. When I went back to the Burrow to sleep with her I found her in Charlie's room with him."

Blaise cocked an eyebrow then whispered back. "What do you mean you found her with Charlie?"

"They were both sleeping," Draco assured him. "She isn't that type of girl, Blaise. I know she's not. And future me knew it too. He seemed to be amused at the idea of finding her curled up in Charlie's bed. Then Charlie left the room and I ended up sleeping next to her."

"You mean you guys cuddled," Blaise teased with a knowing smirk. "The future you is a sap, mate."

Draco opened his mouth to threat his friend, but then he stopped and grinned to himself. The future him is a sap. There was no doubt about it. If he wasn't a sap then Tonya probably wouldn't have loved him as much as she did. "Oh well," he shrugged his shoulders, continuing to stir the cauldron. "I had to grow up sometime, right?"

"Just try not to show it so much, yeah," Blaise warned him; noticing the way his friend was starting to show love in his eyes. "The other Slytherins can't know. It could mess everything up."

"I know," Draco sighed.

_**Things keep changing quickly. Your uncle Fred broke up with Aunt Angelina then told her all about the future. He showed her pictures to prove that she belonged with your uncle George, then he left the two of them alone together. It happened a couple of days ago, and your aunt Angelina is starting to sort of understand it. Fred doesn't know that I hear him cry sometimes when he thinks he's alone, but I don't say anything to anyone about it. I, of all people, know what it's like to cry when you lose the one person you thought you were meant to be with. Angelina and George are talking now, and although I haven't really met her in this time I know she's starting to realize she's always secretly loved him more than Fred. I think she dated Fred only because he was the one to ask her out. If George asked her to the Yule Ball instead though, then they would have always known they were meant to be together. I want to say something to comfort Fred, but what can I say? What can I tell him that won't hurt him even more? How can I tell him he'll move on eventually when I myself will never be able to move on from your father? I know Fred will move on though – he and Angelina just weren't meant to be. Somewhere out there, there was a girl who never found the other half to her soul because he was dead. Now that we're changing the future though, they'll find each other somehow. I think Fred just needs to wait it out and learn for himself.**_

_** Today is March twelfth 1996, and you my little one aren't supposed to be born until the year 2000. Isn't it funny how time traveling works? Any little thing that we do now will have the hugest impact on the future. I don't know what's going to happen when I return home. I won't have Draco, I won't have you, and there will be people who shouldn't be alive greeting me. People that I love in the future might not be there, and people that we mourn might be alive still. It's funny how it all works out in the end, but it saddens me at the same time. I find myself wishing I didn't have to return. Harry told me that when I see a door appear out of nowhere, it's meant to bring me home but I don't want to go through that door. I like living in the past. It's a past that I'm comfortable in, and I have everyone here supporting me right now. I still have you right now, and I can sneak into Hogwarts to steal glances at your father. I can't do that in the future. I can't do anything in the future. I'll probably return to a broken down apartment somewhere in America, and all my friends from now will be there waiting for me. I know I'll still have them because they know about me now; they know who I am. I know I won't be completely alone when I go back, but then they'll leave me eventually. They can't stay with me in America for good, and I can't leave America just to move to the wizarding world without your father.**_

_** I don't know what's going to happen when I go back to the year 2000, but I know nothing will be the same. I'll go back with my thoughts and memories, and I'll have these books to remind me of my short time with you. You're kicking me now; a lot really. It's almost as if you know what's going to happen to you once we succeed in changing the past, and you're screaming out for help. It's like you don't want to be forgotten. Trust me Little One, you'll never be forgotten. I can never forget you… even if you weren't trying to break my ribs with your kicks.**_

_** I couldn't sleep last night because the twins decided to work on their inventions, and the sounds coming from their room kept me up all night. It reminded me of a time that I slept at the Burrow. Your father and Uncle Harry were out on an Auror mission during a huge storm and I didn't want to sleep at home by myself. When I called your aunt Ginny, she told me she was on her way to the Burrow because your Aunt Hermione was sleeping there. Uncle Ron was on a mission in Bulgaria. I slept in your Uncle Percy's old room, but George decided to keep me up all night with his new crazy invention ideas. In the end I ended up sleeping in your Uncle Charlie's room. I fell asleep with Charlie, but when I woke up your father was sleeping next to me; his arms wound tight around me, and I felt so safe and secure. Last night I ended up going to Charlie again, just like that time in the future. When I woke up though, I didn't have any arms wrapped around me. I turned around and Charlie was gone, and your father was nowhere to be found. I cried again this morning.**_

_** It's starting to hit me just how much I truly am giving up by doing this.**_

_** Fleur doesn't come here anymore, but Bill spends most of his time at the apartment she's living in. In the original story, Dumbledore stayed in Romania with Charlie when he escaped from the Ministry at Hogwarts, but because Charlie's staying here now, Dumbledore is staying with Fleur. I don't know where he was staying at originally, but once Fleur got involved with the Order, she agreed to keep him with her. Your aunt Fleur is something new this time around. I'm starting to see her as the fighter from the stories that I've heard, but never witnessed. We'll most likely be good friends in the future time. She might even be your godmother. Draco always claimed that Ginny and Harry would be the godparents to our very first child, but I think I might just have to go against his wishes this once, and name your godparents as Bill and Fleur. I see the stress in Fleur's eyes when I see her, and I know what she's going through. She just wants to make sure her future husband doesn't get hurt this time around. She goes to work at Gringotts, then goes home to Dumbledore and secretly works with the Order. She soothes Bill when he goes to see her, and she makes sure that I get certain things she feels I need.**_

_** Things are happening quickly over here. Bill already cleaned out eight vaults at Gringotts, and he's been moody since he started bringing them home. Tonks comes over more now and she, Sirius, and Remus are usually trying to break the curses off of the items that Bill brings home. It seems more real now. Once Bill brings home the Horcrux from the Lestrange vault, we only need Harry to grab the diadem from Hogwarts. Then we'll sit and wait for the battle at the Ministry. We have a month and half until then.**_

_** I hope we're ready by then.**_

Hearing people talking, Tonya lifted her head and saw Mad Eye step into the kitchen with Bill right behind him. Dumbledore was there as well, along with Kingsley, Tonks, Remus, Sirius, Charlie, and the twins. She made to hide her book but knew that Mad Eye would become suspicious of her quick movements and use his magical eye to see what she was writing. She heard enough stories about him to know what that eye could do. When they all noticed her sitting there, the twins quickly walked over so they sit on either side of her.

"What's going on?" she asked, closing the book before they could read it.

"I need to run upstairs to grab something," Charlie announced when he noticed the book. "Why don't I put that away for you, Tonya?"

"Thanks," she nodded her head, handing it to him with relief.

Mad Eye looked at the book for a second, then turned to Tonya. "Lucius got a message to Kingsley today at the Ministry. We don't know what it's about, but he's meeting us here in a couple of minutes."

_Struggling with the pair of jean shorts that she was trying to pull on, Tonya hopped her way to the door that was being knocked at. Peeking through the eyehole, she was confused to see her father-in-law standing there. Opening the door, she moved to the side so he could step inside while she buttoned her shorts and zipped it up. Fixing the long-sleeved shirt that she threw on, Tonya started to pull her hair up._

_ "Sorry the place is a mess," she told him, kicking everything out of the way now. "I'm hardly home now because of work, and Draco is always gone too."_

_ Nodding his head, Lucius didn't bother with looking around the messy flat. "Why are you two still living here? Now that you're married the Malfoy manor belongs to you both. And I know Draco would much rather have a house than a flat."_

_ "You of all people know why Draco doesn't want to live in the manor," Tonya told the proud man with a roll of her eyes, "And I don't see the point of needing a house. Right now it's only us two. We both agreed to buy a house when we start to have kids."_

_ "Well then hurry up and get kids," Lucius drawled, sitting on the couch covered with clean clothes. "Or at least have my son use his wand to clean this place up. Why don't you just get a house-elf to clean up after you two?"_

_ "Hermione would kill us," Tonya laughed, trying to move all the clothes from the couch to the spare bedroom. "Besides, those things creep me out. You know that. I know you didn't come here just to complain about us living in an apartment, Lucius. So what can I help you with?"_

_ Watching with amusement as his daughter-in-law struggled with trying to neaten the place up while keeping up a conversation with him, Lucius rolled his eyes then had the place spotless with a simple wave of his wand. "Now it's clean, and you can sit down to have a conversation with me. Sit, darling."_

_ "Thanks," Tonya sighed with relief, flopping her body down on the couch chair across from him. "So what's going on?"_

_ Allowing himself to relax as if he were in the comfort of his own home, Lucius shook his head. "My son told me you were working double shifts at The Three Broomsticks."_

_ "Dean is always late to work," Tonya nodded her head, yawning as if to prove Lucius's point. "Rosmerta keeps me until he shows up. Or she'll keep me if he calls in sick."_

_ "Why do you work, love? You're married to one of the wealthiest men in the world, and he's got a very good paying job. You don't need to put up with the ridiculous hours. You don't need to work at all."_

_ "I'm not going to just live off of Draco's money. Although I do like to use it once in a while to spoil myself with things, I'm not going to be that type of wife."_

_ "But that's the type of wife we wizards know."_

_ "Then he should have married a witch," Tonya cocked an eyebrow. "I know Draco didn't run to you to only complain about me working. We fight about this all the time. So what does he want you to do?"_

_ Chuckling, Lucius shook his head and smiled fondly at the young girl in front of him. "We all knew you would catch on quickly. Yes, Draco does know you would refuse to give up your job. Just as much as he knows you won't move out of this flat until you have a kid. Would you be willing to give up your job once you have a family, Tonya?"_

_ "What?" that question caught her off guard. Sure, they've discussed moving into a big house once the children started coming, but they didn't really talk about her quitting her job as well. Why didn't Draco talk to her about this? Why did he have to talk to his dad?_

_ Lucius seemed to know be reading her mind because he said, "Draco feared you would attack him then call either Miss Weasley or Miss Granger to hex off certain parts of his anatomy. But this isn't really for him. It's mostly for me. I don't understand how a muggle's mind works, love. I don't know why a young woman would prefer to work for her own money when her husband has more than enough. Narcissa has never worked a job in her life, but she's always going out shopping for the most expensive things. And I noticed that Miss Granger would rather work than spend her hero money as well. Could you help me to understand?"_

_ "It isn't so much that we want to," Tonya shyly admitted to him. She and Lucius were pretty close, and they got along great. He was the one who walked her down the aisle at her wedding, and he was always inviting her for one-on-one lunch dates or fishing trips at the cabin, but they never really talked about her past that much. "But it's more-so where we have to. My parents weren't really there for me growing up, and we didn't have money, so I had to get a job from when I was really young just to help pay the bills. When I turned seventeen my parents won this lottery thing – they won five hundred thousand dollars. They left me though; I came home from work that night and found the house empty except for my things. I brought my own apartment, got a second job and things picked up from there. I'm not rich, Lucius, I'm not used to looking at something, wanting it, and then getting it. I'm used to working for what I want, and saving my money instead of spending it on everything I see. Draco tries to change my habits, but I can't change – I won't change that. It's all I know."_

_ Seeing the muggle girl in a whole new sense now, Lucius reached forward and grabbed her hand in his. "But you can change, darling. I don't know what it's like to have to work for money. I work to salvage the Malfoy name, but I've always had money. And even before she married me, Narcissa had money. Draco sees what you've been through, and I understand for six months he's lived your life, but it doesn't have to always be that way. You're a Malfoy now. Money grows on trees for us. This is your payback; this is your reward for always being forced to work."_

_ "I'll stop," Tonya said after a long silence filled with stern staring. "When I get pregnant, I'll stop working. I'll become a damn witch-wife, and I'll spend all my time shopping and wasting my husband's money. Once we start to have kids, I promise I'll be a stay at home mom."_

_ Lucius smirked, "That's all we want from you."_

Tonya was nervously tugging at the shirt showing off her baby bump. She was two and a half months pregnant, and it showed. Tonya didn't really know that much pregnant women; only Fleur, but even Fleur didn't show this much at only two and half months. Actually, Fleur was this big when she was four months. She knew she wasn't pregnant with twins; she could just sense one kid in there, but Tonya didn't know if it was normal to be this big or not. Nobody in Grimmauld Place could answer her question, and she hadn't seen Molly in a while, so she had nobody to tell her if this was normal or not. The short sleeved shirt was tight against her belly, and her jean shorts were settled under the bump, allowing it to sort of poke out and be seen.

"Why are you nervous?" Bill asked the fidgeting girl sitting between his younger brothers.

"Lucius hasn't seen me pregnant yet," Tonya admitted. "I don't even know if he knows."

After sharing a guilty look, Remus nodded his head at his house mates then cleared his throat. "Actually, he does know," seeing the look that Tonya was giving him, Remus blushed. "We didn't tell him. Kreacher did. Seeing as how our Harry knows… the future Harry called Kreacher back and ordered him to inform Lucius. We met up with him one night, and discussed it with him."

"Well, seeing as how I'm still in the past, I take it you guys gave him my argument and he agreed to keep me here," she muttered bitterly.

"Only because I know how determined you are to stay," came a voice from behind all of them.

"Dad!" Tonya cried, jumping to her feet and running across the room to hug her father-in-law.

"Dad?" Lucius questioned, pulling the girl into his arms. "What did you do, Tonya Anne Malfoy? You only call me that when you're guilty of something."

Laughing, Tonya shook her head and rested her head against his chest. "I just miss you."

Mad Eye and Dumbledore shared a questioning look with each other, then both nodded their heads in unison. The twins seemed to be the most confused ones in the room when they saw the way Lucius was acting with the muggle girl. They heard from their older brothers about how close the two were but they didn't believe it. Now that they were witnessing it for themselves they still couldn't believe it. Lucius Malfoy was a Death Eater, he hated their family for being muggle lovers and poor, he killed muggles before… he didn't love a muggle girl pregnant with a half-blood child. It just didn't make sense.

"I can't stay long," Lucius announced after he stared longingly at the bump his grandchild was forming. "There's a meeting tonight."

Kingsley nodded his head then motioned towards the table. "Well, we'll make this quick then. We couldn't get all the members of the Order here, but we managed to bring in the most important ones. You said you had something important to talk to us about?"

"Yes," holding Tonya's hand, Lucius sat next to Mad Eye, and allowed his daughter-in-law to sit next to him. "Someone in Gringotts has released information of a Curse Breaker checking all vaults for cursed items."

Gasping, Tonya's eyes widened. "Then that means there's an inside Death Eater working at Gringotts."

Lucius nodded his head. "Precisely. I don't know who it is, but I'm trying to find out. Voldemort-" the twins gasped "-doesn't feel that his item will be caught, because he believes his magic is the highest type of magic there is. He truly believes that the magic he has protecting his Horcrux won't be found out. Bella, however, isn't very pleased to hear that her vault might be searched."

"It shouldn't matter," Tonks scoffed. "It's not as if they'll arrest her for whatever they find. She's already escaped from Azkaban, and is currently on the run, if they didn't catch her yet they won't catch her just because of a vault filled with cursed items."

"That doesn't mean she won't use her Death Eater friend to prevent her vault from being searched," Bill groaned. "I need to check her vault as soon as possible then."

Lucius nodded his head, "I would advise it. Kreacher's also been doing a good job of keeping up with Bella and Narcissa; Voldemort seems to be pleased with whatever information Kreacher's been feeding him."

"So far the people he's sending to grab the prophecy are the same people from the original timeline," Mad Eye barked out in approval. "Which means he doesn't suspect anything is wrong."

Still staring at the man he couldn't believe was on their side, Fred asked, "What's going to happen with the battle at the Ministry though? What if he brings more Death Eaters than originally planned?"

"He won't," Lucius assured the twin he never thought he would see again. "Voldemort is very cocky. He thinks that he's more powerful than everyone, and that he thinks ahead of everyone else. The first battle at the Ministry, he sent twelve of us to deal with the six students. He showed up at the very end because he believed that we achieved the goal for him, and killed the students. He didn't know that the Order members were there or Albus. Voldemort will arrive by himself because he is too cocky to think he needs back up."

"Very well said, Lucius," Dumbledore nodded his head approvingly. "Voldemort will be surprised when he shows up this time, however. We will have all of the Order members there, waiting for the Death Eaters."

"And the other Death Eaters?" Sirius asked. "What if they call him before we're ready for him?"

"Then others will come as well," Lucius sighed. "As long as no one calls him, Voldemort will show up by himself just as he did originally. But if someone presses that dark mark, he will bring others because he will know something is wrong."

"We knew to expect others there," Kingsley reminded all of them. "This is going to be a war people; we need to be fully prepared for the worst."

Dumbledore nodded his head. "And we need to plan this out quickly. The date is arriving closer than we thought."

**A/N: Review please! I love reviews! They make me squeal with joy!**


	24. Morning Sickness

Morning Sickness

"Detention tonight, Granger!"

Turning around, Hermione gave Draco a disgusted look. "What for, Malfoy? I didn't even do anything."

"Because you're a disgusting little Mudblood," he laughed with his friends.

Stopping Harry and Ron from killing Draco for calling her the foul word, Hermione held them both back by their robes. Behind Draco, all of the other Slytherins laughed at her. "Let me kill him, Hermione," Ron grunted, trying to pull out his wand so he could hex the blonde.

"The ferret isn't worth it," Hermione hissed at Ron, trying to get him to calm down. "Let it go, Ron."

"Detention for you too, Weasley," Draco smirked, "For attacking your superior."

"If the superior is you Malfoy, than we've all died and woke up in hell."

Draco's eyes flashed a warning shade of dark grey as he turned to face Harry. "And you Potter, you get detention tonight just for being the boy-who-wouldn't-die!"

"Just ignore him," Hermione muttered to her two best friends, pulling them away from Draco as they tried to hex him. "Hurry up and move before Umbitch gets here."

Laughing with the Slytherins at the way he put down the trio, Draco shouted at their backs as they walked away, "Professor Snape will be expecting you to degut toads in his classroom at nine o'clock tonight."

Sitting in the kitchen with a large tin filled with sugar cookies in front of her, Tonya sipped on the warm cup of eggnog and smiled in content at the simplicity of her lunch. The twins were at the Burrow, driving Molly insane as they collected all of their prototypes from their old room. In the original story the twins already had their shop in Hogsmeade, and that's where they disappeared to when they left Hogwarts, but because they had their pranks physically attack the new headmistress, they couldn't open their shop yet. They had the shop in their names, but they couldn't physically work inside of it as long as they were wanted men by the Ministry of Magic. Molly thought that the news would wake her sons up, but instead it only made them more determined to have a long list of beautiful items to sell once their names were cleared. Tonks helped them out by sneaking the items into the Room of Requirements when she went there at night to help train the DA. Then within a couple of days she would return with a bag filled with money, and an order for more items. Molly was losing her mind.

Because the twins were gone at the Burrow, and Bill was still practically living at Gringotts, Tonya enjoyed the solitude of Grimmauld Place. Sirius and Remus were constantly spending their days up in the room filled with cursed items, and occasionally she would hear a loud bang, a shriek of pain, another banging sound, laughter, and then it went silent again. Charlie spent most of his days traveling between Fleur's place, the Burrow, and Grimmauld Place, but in this moment he was at Fleur's. Because Fleur was also gone at work, Charlie went over to her flat to keep Dumbledore company and so they could talk about the plan some more. Nobody liked the idea of Tonya still going with them to the Ministry so she could be the one to destroy all of the Horcruxes while they fought against the Death Eaters, but it was already somewhat set in stone. Tonya was going with them no matter what.

Listening to the soft sounds of American rock music playing from the radio that Kreacher had set up for her, Tonya continued to sit at the kitchen table and eat her large snack. At least, she did until she heard the screeching sound of Mrs. Black shouting from her portrait. "Oh, put a sock in it," by the time Tonya looked up at the doorway, Molly was standing there with her arms folded against her chest. "Merlin's Beard, dear girl, you shouldn't be eating so many sweets."

Molly leaned forward to take her cookies away, but Tonya responded with a growl and narrowed eyes. Quickly pulling the tin away from Molly, Tonya hugged it to her chest. "Mine!"

"Isn't that what the creepy version of Kreacher said when we tried to take the Horcrux locket away from him before we knew what it was," Fred laughed, entering the kitchen.

Also entering the kitchen, George took in the scene. "Be careful, Mum, Tonya almost chopped Bill's hand off the other night when he reached for her bowl of soup by mistake."

"Sweets aren't good for you right now," Molly frowned at the girl who was now quickly shoving two cookies into her mouth. "Why don't I make you some healthy cookies?"

Tonya cocked an eyebrow. "Hmpfh aldlkhf qljskhd lssddl."

"Blimey, she's like Ron," the twins said in unison.

Scowling at her two sons, Molly turned back to the girl and sighed. "Just eat those cookies, dear, because I'm taking them away from you once my cookies are finished baking."

Sirius and Remus were having a rough day. Mad Eye couldn't help them out today because he was helping Kingsley guard the muggle Prime Minster from afar, and Tonks had to work at the bloody Ministry. Since the warning they got from Lucius two weeks before, Bill was bringing double the amount of cursed items home from the last time. Charlie helped out when he could, but for now he was at Fleur's place with Dumbledore, trying to figure out if there was a chance that Voldemort had any suspicions to what was going on. They believed that Lucius was truly on their side, but they were also aware that things at Hogwarts were nothing like how they were originally meant to be. Students were getting detention literally every night, and even Hermione – who had never gotten detention before Umbridge – was spending every night in detention. They were all under pressure, and they needed to be prepared just in case of any surprises.

"That spell won't work," Remus told Sirius when he heard him muttering under his breath while pointing his wand at a severed claw. "I tried it already."

Groaning, Sirius threw the hand across the room in frustration. "We've de-cursed a total of eighty-nine items in the past three weeks. I thought the Gringotts Curse Breakers were supposed to do that!"

"Well, according to what Lucius told us two weeks ago, and by the amount of cursed items Bill brings home every day, I'm guessing it's safe to say that whoever the last Curse Breaker was, was the snitching Death Eater."

"That's what Mad Eye thinks too," Charlie said, stepping into the room. "At least that's what he told Dumbledore."

Sirius and Remus both sighed in relief when they saw Charlie. "Does this mean you're going to help us?"

"Nope," he chuckled. "I came up to call you two downstairs. Mum's here."

"How long has she been here for?"

"An hour; the twins were telling me that she came here to help you two with the curses, but Tonya was alone downstairs eating a large tin of sugar cookies, so Mum freaked out and made healthy cookies. Then she made lunch. As soon as I walked in she told me to call you guys."

Sirius took one look at the room filled with over fifty more items that needed to be worked on, and he quickly jumped up. "I can take a break for lunch."

"Me too," Remus agreed, also standing up. "Last night, I dreamt of breaking the curse off of an essay that Pansy Parkinson gave to me when I was a professor."

"So Mad Eye agrees that the last Curse Breaker was our Death Eater?" Sirius asked Charlie, ignoring his friend's odd dream.

Charlie nodded his head. "Dumbledore and I were talking about it, and he told me that Mad Eye showed up at Fleur's place a couple of nights ago. It makes sense when you think about it; with a Curse Breaker on the inside they would never have to worry about getting caught while trying to sneak cursed items through the goblins."

"Bill told me the goblins are getting testy with the old Curse Breaker," Tonya said once they entered the kitchen. Seeing the confused looks the three wizards were giving her, she chuckled. "You guys were talking loud."

"So the goblins are getting mad then?" Fred said from his seat next to Tonya.

Smiling at the drained looking Remus as he took the chair on her other side, Tonya nodded her head. "They thought the old Curse Breaker was doing his job and actually de-cursing the items in the vaults, but with all the items that Bill's been bringing home to work on, and the items he's actually working on while at work, they want to know what the hell the other guy was doing."

"Language!" Molly scolded the American. "Now, Tonya, it's time for lunch. Give me your cookies."

Charlie and Sirius snickered at the sudden fear in the girl's eyes. "But, I just have-"

"Nope," Molly shook her head, directing plates filled with food towards the table with her wand. "I warned you."

Seeing Molly point her wand at the tin, Tonya quickly grabbed three cookies before they all disappeared and she shoved them all into her mouth at once. "I'm guessing the baby wants sugar cookies?" Remus asked.

Glaring at Remus as if this was all his fault, Tonya tried not to choke while her mouth was stuffed with three large cookies; some of it sticking out from between her lips, "Honestly, Tonya," Molly shook her head when she saw how puffy the girl's cheeks were now, "You shouldn't be eating that many cookies at once."

Turning her glare onto the Weasley matriarch that she no longer looked up to, Tonya suddenly realized why Fleur tried to avoid Molly throughout her pregnancy. The woman was honestly insane. "This looks delicious, Mum," George suddenly announced, noticing the staring contest between the two women.

Catching on to what his brother was doing, Charlie nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, Mum, what is this? Chicken sandwiches and potato salad?"

"Yes, it is," Molly smiled at her second oldest son. "Tonya, I've made cookies using a substitute sugar; I promise they're just as good."

Tonya only continued to chew on the normal sugar cookies still stuffed in her mouth, and stared down at the plate in front of her. Usually, she loved Molly's chicken sandwiches; chicken mixed together with mayonnaise then the added tomatoes and lettuce just made it that much better. Today was different though. One look at the food, and Tonya had one hand on her stomach and the other covering her mouth.

"Looks like the baby doesn't want chicken sandwiches and potato salad," Fred chuckled as they all watched Tonya run out of the kitchen for the nearest bathroom.

_Tonya sat next to Angelina on the couch. Luna was lying on the floor with the latest copy of the Quibbler in her hands, and Ginny and Hermione were sitting at the table. Fleur was sitting on the floor next to Luna, and had her legs spread wide open so her bulging belly could sort of just hang up there in the air like a basketball about to be dunked. Tonya watched the way that Fleur leaned back on her hands, sitting comfortably in her black leggings and the short sleeved powder blue colored dress. She also watched as Fleur ate contently from the plate filled with white fudge marbled brownies, and drank the large glass filled with apple juice. It was such an odd combination, but Fleur had never seemed happier in her life – not even when Bill's around._

_ "I thought you didn't like brownies?" Angelina asked Fleur, also watching the French woman. "I remember hearing you saying that once while you were at Hogwarts that one year."_

_ Fleur shrugged her shoulders, "I do not like brownies. Leettle Victoire likes thee brownies."_

_ "I remember when my aunt was pregnant," Hermione said, looking up from the muggle puzzle she and Ginny were working on. "Throughout her entire pregnancy she ate steak. Which was weird, because she's a vegetarian."_

_ Fleur nodded her head. "Yez, my maman waz telling me dat my appetit weel change."_

After brushing her teeth and rinsing her mouth out with mouthwash, Tonya frowned at the toilet. Thanks to stupid appetites, she now she just flushed the last of her delicious sugar cookies. She'd have to wait until Molly left before she could ask Kreacher to make her another batch. Who knows how long she'd have to wait now. Remembering the conversation that all of the girls had with Fleur literally only two weeks before she came to the past, Tonya walked back to the kitchen. Deciding that her old chair was too far for her she sat at the head of the table.

"I removed your plate," Molly told her. "Do you know what it is that your stomach didn't agree with?"

"No," Tonya shook her head, trying her hardest not to look at the plates surrounding her. "I think it was the chicken though."

"That happens," Molly sighed, using her wand to fly the plate of freshly baked cookies at her. "I'd rather you ate real food, but it seems like your little one only wants the cookies."

Grinning, Tonya quickly began to eat one of them. "Mmm," she said in content. "Do you think you could make more before you leave? These are actually really good, Molly, thanks. And yeah, I know. I remember Fleur telling us about that. All she craves are white fudge brownies, which is funny because she hates brownies. And it's weird because I usually love eating your chicken sandwiches."

"I'm guessing that Tonya's in a better mood now," Sirius chuckled from his chair.

_**So I learned something new today. Today is March twenty-sixth 1996, and only now my taste buds are really starting to kick in. I've been hungry for certain things that I just had to eat, for a while now, but only now I'm starting to become disgusted by certain foods. It seems like you don't like chicken too much. Or was it the mayonnaise that had you throwing up? It could have been anything on that plate, really, but I'm betting my money on the chicken. Today was also a first of things to look forward to. Today was the first time since the morning I realized I was pregnant, that I threw up. Molly assured me that it's the morning sickness kicking in now. Seeing as how today makes exactly my third month of being pregnant with you, it seems to make sense that only now I'll start to get the full effects. Molly also assured me that every pregnancy is different when it comes to how much the baby grows, and that it's sometimes normal for a belly to stick out as much as mine is so early in the pregnancy.**_

_** When she was pregnant with your uncle Charlie, she was slightly larger than me within her first three months as well. **_

_** This just makes me more nervous, and it hurts me even more though. I can feel you kicking me, and now you're rejecting food that I once loved to eat. We're more connected now than ever before. I want to sneak into Hogwarts to see Madam Pomfrey, just to check on your progress. I know that Molly wouldn't lie to me, but I want to check on you for myself; just to be sure. I mean, what if she's wrong just this once? A voice in the back of my head tells me that even if I check on you, I'm only going to lose you either way, but then another voice tells me that I should be a good mother and check on you anyway-**_

"Tonya?"

Looking up at where Bill was now knocking on her door, she saw him grinning. "We got the Horcrux."

**A/N: I know this is short. I was in the middle of writing the letter to the baby, when my brother came over. He moved out 'bout 2 months ago and he's living with our cousin. Kaika's mom Heather is my mom's 2cd cousin. My Aunty Heather's dad is my grandma's first cousin. Aunty Heather just moved to San Diego with her new husband 6 months ago. Kaika moved with them, then when my brother moved into their house with Kaika's grandma Kaika moved back home. It's midnight now and my brother just came here to tell us that Aunty Heather's husband stabbed her to death last night. The cops went to the house, and woke up my brother and Kaika. Aunty Heather's mom is in Vegas without a phone, and has no idea that her daughter has been murdered. **

**I know you guys are probably sick of me for doing this, but trust me no one is more sick than I am for how fucked up this entire year has been for me. I literally stopped it right there. I usually write when I can't think, but because this story had Draco brutally murdered with slices and whatnot, I can't look at it right now. I'm sort of numb, but not really.**

**If any of you live in San Diego, my aunty's name is Heather Tuiolosega. Her maiden name is Rosa, so I don't know what name it would have on your guys' news. Her husband's name is Nelson; he's a prison guard. If you guys see it on the news, please send me a message or a link to it. My brother and cousin want to see it. The cops down here only told them she was stabbed to death by her husband, and that he tried killing himself but failed so he's in a hospital now. It apparently happened between Saturday night and Sunday morning, but they don't have all the details because the San Diego police had to call the Oahu police to tell them to notify the family. Kaika went into hysterics and punched one of the cops, and my brother called Aunty Heather's sister to pick him up. I think they just want the news article to prove it's real. We can't find any information on it on Oahu yet.**

**Again, I'm sorry. I don't know when I'll be back to this story in particular. Please try to give me a week to see if I don't get nauseous just thinking about it!**

**-Evelynn Leilani**


	25. cont Morning Sickness

**I had a long note explaining exactly why I left when I did, and I was answering a rude anon, but I deleted all of it. Some people will think that I'm an attention seeker, and some people will understand. I thank all of you that have patient with me over the past year that this story has been up, and all of you new readers that are giving me a chance as well, but I'm not explaining myself anymore! I picked up where I left off last chapter, and this is what was supposed to be a part of last chapter, before I cut it off, so it's short as well; seeing as this was literally meant to be part of last chapter. This is a straight continuation of where I left off!**

Morning Sickness Pt.2

Entering the living room, Tonya saw that Mad Eye was sitting on a chair in the center of the room. Dumbledore was sitting on a separate chair next to him, and McGonagall seemed to be sitting on a chair as well. Molly was already gone, but the twins were sitting on a two-seater while Charlie sat on the couch next to Remus and Sirius. Looking around the room, Tonya saw that Tonks, Kingsley, and Arthur were also there. Telling Bill that she didn't want to sit on the couch, Tonya gently lowered herself to the ground. It felt so odd to have to cradle your belly while lowering your body, but Tonya did it without even thinking about what she was doing. Smiling politely and greeting everybody, Tonya asked if Molly was returning. When she was assured that she wasn't, Tonya called for Kreacher to bring her a batch of sugar cookies. The house-elf walked into the room once the order left Tonya's mouth – he had apparently started to bake as soon as Molly left.

"I swear that Kreacher is a saint," Tonya muttered in ecstasy while enjoying the warm sweetness on her tongue.

Charlie snickered. "You better not let Mum catching you eating those, Tonya. She'll probably get rid of all the ingredients, and threaten Sirius into banning Kreacher from making you anymore."

"And if that doesn't work she'll go down to Hogwarts, and demand that Harry thinks to himself to force to the older Harry in the future to order Kreacher to stop making you the cookies," Sirius shuddered. "Molly's a very frightening witch – no offense, Arthur."

Arthur chuckled lightly while rubbing the balding spot on his head. "It's alright, Sirius, I quite agree with you."

"You're looking better," McGonagall smiled kindly at the young girl sitting on the floor. "How have you been since I last saw you?"

"Getting fatter," Tonya shrugged, resting the large cookie filled tin in the spot between her spread legs. Now she understood how Fleur felt. "I puked today for the first time when I saw chicken, and I'm constantly craving sugar cookies. If any of you tell Molly that I'm still eating them, I'll kill you in the most muggle way I can think of. Or I'll order Kreacher to do it slowly and painfully in a magical way," Tonya's eyes narrowed at Mad Eye, "That goes for you too, Mad Eye."

"Why do I care what you eat, girl?" Mad Eye barked at her, but everyone could see the gentle kindness in his face.

Laughing, Dumbledore began to play with his beard. "I'm sure we weren't all called here to talk about Tonya's eating habits?"

Tonya watched Bill while she ate the cookie in peace. "I grabbed the Horcrux," he grinned. "Thanks for warning me about that one curse though, Tonya. I'm sure that if I wasn't prepared to be burned and attacked I would have probably been seriously injured by the multiplying objects," Tonya simply only grunted and shrugged her shoulders in response.

"Where is it?" asked Charlie.

"I put it upstairs inside the room with the others."

"So how many do we have now?" questioned Mad Eye.  
>"The goblet, the ring, and the locket," Tonya grinned. "The diary's already been destroyed, so now we just need the diadem, Nagini, and Harry."<p>

"We'll tell Harry to grab the diadem then," McGonagall assured everybody. "Hermione helped us come up with a solution to keep all of the students from being attacked by Dolores. The students are confused and they hate us for it, but some of them have noticed we're only protecting them."

"What are you guys doing?" Fred asked.

"We assign them detentions every night. Ron, Harry, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, Luna, and Seamus all have detention with Severus tonight."

"At least Umbridge won't get suspicious if they spend their detention with Snape," Tonya sighed with relief. "Is it safe for Harry to grab the diadem though?"

"If Voldemort sensed that the Horcruxes were all placed together, Lucius would have noticed it by now," Kingsley assured the muggle with a nod of his head. "And it was you who pointed out to us that Voldemort only thought to check on the Horcruxes when he saw it inside of Harry's mind."

"And he's not checking into Harry's mind this year," Dumbledore announced with giddy glee. "He's only sending Harry false visions."

By the time Draco and Blaise entered the classroom, Luna and Neville were writing on the blackboard while Ginny and Hermione whispered about something. Harry and Ron were sitting with Snape at his desk, working on helping Harry to clear his mind. Ron lifted his head so that he could greet Draco with a growl, and Hermione waved the two Slytherins over to her and Ginny.

"Sorry about earlier," Draco sheepishly muttered. Since finding out he married a muggle he's been wary about uttering the 'M' word, but he knew that it had to be done in order to keep up pretenses. The old Draco Malfoy would have assigned Hermione a detention because of her blood, so he had to do it as well.

Hermione waved her hand at him. "You did what you had to," she assured him.

"Where's Seamus?" Blaise asked.

Looking up from what she and Neville were doing, Luna waved at her two new friends. "He had to help Lavender with something, but he should be here soon."

"Okay," Blaise looked back at the two girls he was now sitting with. "What are you two doing?"

"Nothing," Ginny shrugged her shoulders. "Harry and Ron are trying to work on their Occlumency skills with Snape, and Neville's helping Luna learn more about Herbology, so we're just talking."

"What are you two talking about?"

Hermione started to smirk, and Ginny rolled her eyes. "Hermione's teasing me because of my crush on Harry from when I was younger."

Blaise started to snicker, and Draco rolled his eyes. "Oh, is that what it was? All this time I thought you only liked him as your older brother's friend. I mean, all little sisters send their older brother's best friends a poem on Valentine's Day, and defend them against the bullies."

Ginny turned as red as her hair, and Hermione patted her gently on the shoulder. "I told you that you didn't do a good job of hiding it, Gin. Even Draco noticed it. And he was a prat in those days."

"Well, it's not as if you were any better in hiding how you felt about Ron," Ginny retorted.

It was Blaise who turned to Hermione this time. "She's right, Hermione. All of the Slytherins have bets going on how long it'll be before you and Ron finally realize that all your fighting and arguing is based on how badly you two just want to shag each other."

Nobody had thought that any human could turn as red as Hermione did. Ginny, Blaise, and Draco were laughing so loud that everybody else in the classroom turned around just so they could see what was going on. "Why does Miss Granger look like she's forgotten how to breathe?" Snape called out from where he was sitting. Harry and Ron looked nervous for their best friend.

The promise of a painful death shone brightly in Hermione's eyes, challenging the trio surrounding her to tell what they just said. Ginny gulped. "No – no reason," she quickly replied.

Playfully nudging the red faced witch with his shoulder, Draco chuckled. "Why _haven't_ you two started dating yet, like Harry and Ginny?"  
>Staring at the floor, Hermione started to fidget in her chair. "Well…"<p>

_Draco came home early from work, and he found his wife sitting at the kitchen table and laughing at Hermione with Ginny and Blaise. The three from Hogwarts had decided to reminisce about their school days, and it got into the topic of relationships. Blaise thought it would be funny to talk about how Ginny seemed to go through an army of guys before finally settling on the one person she's been in love with all her life, and it led from that to how Hermione seemed to only go through Quidditch players._

_ "Draco!" Ginny grinned when she spotted him. "Please tell Tonya about how Hermione dated Viktor Krum. Hermione's trying to downplay it."_

_ Draco cocked an eyebrow. "How can anybody downplay dating an International Quidditch star?"_

_ Tonya started laughing. "By denying the fact that he's an International Quidditch star? C'mon, Hermione, I want all the details."_

_ "So do we," smirked Blaise. "It was quite the scandal of Hogwarts for the rest of the year, and most of the next. Do you remember that, Draco?"_

_ Pulling Tonya out of her chair so he could sit down and pull her onto his lap, Draco smirked as well. "Do I remember how we caught Pansy trying to brew a polyjuice potion while convincing Daphne to somehow get a hold of Hermione's hair? No, Blaise, I think I've forgotten how that went. Please, remind me…"_

_ "Wait – what?" Hermione and Ginny both had dropped jaws. "Parkinson tried to do what?"_

_ The two Slytherins laughed at the stunned expressions on the two Gryffindors' faces. "Pansy was so in love with Krum," Blaise explained to Hermione, "She was one of the girls who tried to stalk him when he came to Hogwarts that year. When it became known that he preferred you though, she became desperate enough to want to turn into you just so she could be with him."_

_ "It didn't work though," Draco laughed. "Daphne didn't want any part in the scheme, so Millicent was the one who tried to grab your hair. Pansy spent nearly a month in the hospital wing looking like half a cat."_

_ Hermione and Ginny were the ones who erupted into uncontrollable laughter at that point. Everybody looked at them for an explanation, and Draco could see the actual tears in Hermione's eyes while she laughed loudly. Ginny was trying to control her breathing, and even Tonya seemed to be snickering. "What?" Blaise questioned, slightly afraid for his life. "What's so funny?"_

Draco snapped his head up and saw that Hermione was now talking about something that happened in Charms class. Apparently Dean asked Flitwick something about the homework assignment, and got assigned a detention. The professors were taking their new roles seriously, and insuring that none of the students would be able to get a detention with Umbridge at all. But Draco's eyes were wide as he stared at Hermione. "You brewed a polyjuice potion in second year just to prove that I was the heir of Slytherin?"

Hermione stopped talking. She turned to look at him. "What?"

"And then you got turned into a sort of weird hybrid cat-person because you grabbed Millicent's cat's hair instead of her hair?"

Blaise broke into immediate laughter. "The same thing happened to Pansy in fourth year."

"How do you know about that?" gawked Ginny.

Draco slowly shook his head. "I just had another flashback. I came home early from work one day, and the three of you were laughing with Tonya. We were all teasing Hermione about Krum, and then Blaise confessed something that Pansy did in our fourth year. You ended up telling us about it."

Hermione was bright red again. "I made everyone swear to never mention it again. Ginny only knows about it because we thought she could use some cheering up after what happened that year."

"Well, apparently you're going to tell us in the future," Blaise grinned, "So you might as well just tell us about it now. And I'll tell you all about the time that Pansy tried to turn into you so she could date Krum, but ended up turning into a mutated version of Crookshanks instead."

Tonya continued sitting on the ground of Grimmauld Place. Everybody was still there and talking. There was only a little over one month left to go before the battle at the Ministry. Only the diadem needed to be collected then they would have everything they needed. Kreacher would feed Harry the information about Sirius being gone, and they would soon trap Voldemort into his final death. There wouldn't be as many deaths as there once was, but Tonya couldn't help but to feel as if there would still be deaths. It showed on everybody's faces that they all agreed with her thoughts as well. Placing a hand on her moving stomach, Tonya avoided looking into any of the elders' eyes. If they knew that she was having second thoughts about everything they would never allow her to go.

In the short time that she'd been in the past, Tonya had grown too attached to everybody – including her unborn child. A selfish part of her didn't want to go to the Ministry and risk losing her child. A selfish part of her wanted to stay in the past forever. A cruel part of her wanted to confront the fifteen year old Draco and tell him everything about the future and who she truly is. Tonya wasn't ready to let go just yet.

**A/N: 2 weeks ago I decided to get over my personal problems and attempt writing the next chapter for this, but I couldn't so I moved onto my other story then another and another and another… I couldn't write anything, not even a drabble. It was the worst case of Writer's Block I'd ever experienced and I was depressed thinking I'd never be able to write again. I reread the Inheritance series for a second time since learning of my aunty's murder then I read a 'Hermione goes into the past' story and I got a new idea. In only 1 week I managed to finish writing a new story and it's completely pau. I even managed to write 3 chapters for **_**this**_** one (meaning I only have about 2 or 3 more chapters to write before this story's pau completely) **

**So the newest story is called 'A Glitch In The Timeline' and I used Regulus as an actual main character – he's sort of becoming my obsession now! It's based on the children of Dramione (both 15 years old) and they get sucked into a timeline. 16 year old Neville and 16 year old Draco are also both taken from their own timelines and thrown into this old timeline with Avianna and Scorpius – taking them to 1978. Draco and Avianna are both in Slytherin while Neville and Scorpius are in Gryffindor. Draco and Neville are placed in 7th year so they can befriend the Marauders while Scorpius and Avianna are in 6th year. Meaning to only save the Potters from being killed in a couple of years while telling the Order where to find the Horcruxes, Avianna ends up falling in love with Regulus and becoming best friends with Rabastan Lestrange. Draco and Neville fall in love with their godmums, and the time-travelers end up messing the timeline up in more ways than they thought they could…**

**I promise you guys will like that one, and it's already pau so no need to wait for me to finish writing each chapter, only for me to do my weekly or every other day uploads.(:**

**I've made my peace with myself so I promise **_**this**_** story will still be completely finished by 2013. I've already written the next 2 chapters to follow this, so I'll be updating those quickly. And I'm already starting the chapter at the Ministry(: there will be one main chapter after the Ministry chapter, and I'm debating on whether or not to do another one after that – it all depends on which way I decide to take the chapter after the Ministry…**


	26. The Final Horcrux

The Final Horcrux

"Great job, Blaise!" Tonks barked out at the boy who was throwing a hex across the room at Harry.

Rubbing his forehead that was now sporting a horn, Harry groaned. "Bloody hell, that hurts. I don't know how it'll stop the Death Eaters, but it's good at causing a load of pain. I can feel it sticking out of my forehead."

"That's the point, Harry," chuckled Remus.

"How's your nonverbal spells?" Tonya called out from across the room. It'd been a week since Bill retrieved the Horcrux from the Lestrange vault at Gringotts, and she finally managed to ask McGonagall if she could see Madam Pomfrey just to know how the baby is doing. She struggled with herself on what she should do, but then decided it was for the best. Although she would return to a time where the baby would no longer exist she wanted to make sure that she was a cautious mother during a time when she did have the baby.

Without opening her mouth, Hermione suddenly had Ron flying across the room, while Seamus had Remus turning into a duck without a single uttered word. "I'd say we're doing better with it," Ginny smirked from where she was standing over a grunting Neville.

"Good," Tonya nodded her head in acknowledgement. "The Death Eaters that are gonna be there are also good with nonverbal spells, but they won't be expecting it from you guys."

The door to the Room of Requirements opened up, and Luna stepped inside. "Hullo, Tonya," she beamed while waving.

"Hey, Luna," Tonya waved back.

"Madam Pomfrey's ready for you now."

"Great," thanking everybody in the room when they immediately stopped flying hexes at each other so she could safely walk around from the magical shield protecting her, Tonya looked for Charlie.

"Here's the map," Harry said, passing the Marauder's Map from his pocket. "Sorry I don't have the cloak to give to you guys, but you only gave us a couple minute's warning that you were coming here. I gave it to the twins three days ago."

"We know," Charlie grunted out, placing his hand on the small of Tonya's back. "They've been hell since they had it. The only good thing about it is that they've been spending most of their time at the Burrow."

Tonya nodded her head and sighed. "Them being at the Burrow means I actually get to sleep at night."

"Why didn't you just ask the twins for the cloak?" Seamus asked.

It was Remus who shook his head. "The twins are on some sort of recon mission with Lucius tonight. They've been using it these past days for research for a new product, but Lucius showed up at Grimmauld Place this morning, and they've been gone all day."

"Since we're only a month away from the final date, Lucius has been more set on killing off the minor Death Eaters," Charlie explained to the confused looking room filled with teens.

Hermione, Ginny, and Luna all shared nervous glances with one another. "Is that smart?"

"He's being careful not to get caught, and he's making sure that it's only Death Eaters that Voldemort won't notice has gone missing," Tonya nodded her head in assurance. "I'm worried about that too. I already lost Draco and I'm going to lose this kid. I can't lose my father-in-law as well. But Mad Eye and Kingsley have assured me that Lucius hasn't been suspected for anything yet."

"We should hurry off to see Madam Pomfrey," Charlie suddenly said. His eyes narrowed in the direction of a far corner in the room.

Also glancing towards the corner in the room, Ginny nodded her head in agreement. "How long do you guys think it's going to take?"

"I don't know," Charlie shrugged his shoulders. "But we're also hoping to take the diadem back home tonight, so the room is going to have to be _completely_ emptied out in order for Harry to get to it."

Nodding his head to show that he understood what Charlie was trying to say, Harry coughed. "I'll grab it once you guys are gone. We'll see you two when you come back from the hospital wing."

"Snape is waiting in there for you," Luna added in a serene voice.

Once Charlie and Tonya left the room, everybody released sighs of relief. They had all been training in the room, Draco included, when Remus sent a Patronus ahead to them. Tonya was on her way, and they were only a minute away from the room. Not having the time to escape the room, Draco ended up placing an invisible charm on himself and stayed as quiet as he could in the far corner. He made sure to not go anywhere near Tonya in fear that she would be able to sense him. Once the two left the room though, Draco removed the charm from himself. He hasn't seen her since that day that they ran into each other when he saw her ring, and he was stunned speechless.

"Are you okay, Draco?"

Draco shook his head. He was sitting on the floor with his knees resting against his chest. "She's so pregnant."

Tonks nodded her head slowly. "That's why she wants to check with Madam Pomfrey. Molly assured her that it's normal for most people to be this big as early into the pregnancy as she is, but Tonya feels like something's off. She wants to make sure the baby is alright."

"My baby…" Draco breathed out. "That's my baby inside of her… _Mine_!"

Sitting next to his best friend, Blaise wrapped an arm around Draco's shoulder. "And we're _all _working as hard as we can to ensure that it stays that way."

"We have to keep training," Harry nodded his head. "The harder we train, the more we'll be prepared for what's coming, and then we'll be able to move forward into the new and brighter future."

"She's not even planning on returning to me," Draco sighed while shaking his head. "You all heard her. She's planning on going home to a world without me and our child. A child that I helped to create."

"It's only because she doesn't know that you've been involved all this time," Luna assured him in a calm tone. "And we can't tell Tonya that you know the truth because she would kill all of us."

Remus chuckled nervously and nodded his head in agreement. "She is quite frightening. Earlier last week she even threatened to kill Mad Eye. I don't think I've ever seen him blanch in that way before."

"Why would she threaten Mad Eye?" asked Blaise in confusion.

Tonks snorted. "He thought that everybody was over-exaggerating when it came to her sugar cookies. He tried to grab one, and Tonya came out of nowhere. It was like she could actually fly. It took Bill, Charlie, Remus, Sirius, McGonagall, Fred, and Dumbledore just to hold her back. Mad Eye actually stuttered an apology out."

All of the teens snickered at the thought of Mad Eye nearly getting killed just for trying to eat a sugar cookie, and then actually stuttering in fright. Draco look confused though. "She doesn't like sugar cookies. I saw her turn her nose up at it in a dream that I had a week ago."

"It's called cravings," Hermione explained. "Pregnant women will crave foods that they normally don't care for, and become disgusted by certain scents or foods that they once loved. It sounds like Tonya's craving is for sugar cookies."

Remus snorted, "That's an understatement. The sugar cookies are more like an obsession. Molly tried to throw all of the sugar cookies away and bake healthier cookies for Tonya, but after the first three days Tonya decided to actually fling a knife across the kitchen at Molly."

Ron and Ginny's jaws dropped. "Is Mum alright?"

"Molly's fine," Remus brushed them off with a wave of his hand. "After realizing what she had done, Tonya burst into a flood of tears. Molly actually felt guilty, and now she helps Kreacher bake as much sugar cookies as they can. Tonya refuses to eat anything else."

Ron nodded his head and tactfully said, "I noticed she put on some weight other than just around the middle."

Every single female in the room flew hexes at Ron out of pure instinct. "You never call a female, fat!" shrieked Hermione.

"Especially when she's pregnant!" Ginny shrieked.

Luna's eyes were narrowed in a way that made her seem more like a Malfoy than a Lovegood. They didn't know it was possible for her to become that frightening. "What is wrong with you, Ronald? Have some tact, please."

"At least we know now how to _not _act around pregnant women," Neville muttered to an equally frightened looking Blaise.

Tonya laid down on one of the hospital beds. The curtains were tightly drawn around them so no wandering students could see them, and the map was laid open next to her so they could see if anyone was coming towards the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey made sure to clear out the hospital wing before sending Luna to tell Tonya the coast was clear, but they preferred to be safe than sorry. Lying flat on her back, Tonya had her shorts unbuttoned and pulled down just slightly, while her shirt was pulled up revealing the large baby stomach. Madam Pomfrey waved her wand over her while muttering spells beneath her breath. Charlie and Snape were both by the bed as well, paying more attention to the floating figure above them instead of the figure on the bed.

"Is he alright?" Tonya asked.

Madam Pomfrey smiled kindly. "How do you know it's a He, dear?"

"Because I just do," Tonya chuckled. "Draco was determined to have an army of boys before we had a girl. I wouldn't put it past him to jinx it as much."

"Well you're correct, you're carrying a boy."

"Another Malfoy heir," Snape rolled his eyes. "How surprising…"

Chuckling, Tonya stared up at the figure in the air. "So is he alright?"

"Yes, he's as healthy as can be. Some pregnancies are just different from others. Some females don't show at all, while others seem to only show."

"Molly said as much," Tonya sighed in relief, "But I just wanted to make sure."

"You seem to have put on a healthy amount of weight as well, Tonya," Madam Pomfrey announced while pulling Tonya's shirt down so she could sit back up properly. "What have you been eating?"

"Healthy food," Tonya quickly lied, glaring at Charlie as if daring him to argue with her. "Molly cooks for me."

Madam Pomfrey pressed her lips together in a stern look. "Somehow I have a hard time believing that. Minerva's informed me that you have taken to eating sugar cookies. Sugar cookies are not a healthy meal."

"Minerva has an annoyingly big mouth," scowled Tonya.

Chuckling, Charlie shook his head. "Tonya also has horrible mood swings. She flew a knife at Mum a couple days ago. And she tried to kill Mad Eye."

"Mood swings are normal," Madam Pomfrey brushed it off. "Molly should know by now not to anger a pregnant woman – they have mixed emotions, and sometimes murder seems like the only answer to them. Somebody needs to explain that to Alastor."

Snape paled. "Now I'm relieved I'm stuck on teaching duty here at Hogwarts. If it's expected to be practically murdered I don't want to be anywhere near Tonya."

"And why is that?"

Quickly moving away from the glaring pregnant woman in question, Snape stared down at her. "I happen to value my life."

"And I happen to value my sugar cookies. And _nobody _is taking them away from me!"

Chuckling at the tone in Tonya's voice, Madam Pomfrey patted her hand. "Of course not, dear. Now, Minerva's also told me that you're worried about your morning sickness?"

"Not really, it just caught me off guard, but I'm used to that part of pregnancies because of Fleur. I was only worried about how large my stomach's gotten in all this time."

"Well, you're experiencing a perfectly normal pregnancy. I would eat something other than those sugar cookies though, because that isn't healthy for the baby or yourself. Pregnant women, especially muggles, have a higher chance of getting diabetes because of their pregnancy cravings. So you need to be careful of what you choose to eat."

Tonya nodded her head. "I'll try, but he won't accept anything else. All he wants are the cookies. And it has to be sugar cookies, Fleur made me chocolate chip cookies once but he threw it up on the first bite."

"I'll have Severus make you a potion to help keep the food down," Madam Pomfrey sighed in resignation, "I promise all of my magic that the potion is safe and completely harmless; it only helps your stomach to settle. It takes two days to brew, but I'll give it to either Remus or Tonks so they can deliver it to you once it's complete."

"Okay," Tonya nodded her head. Thanking Charlie as he helped her to stand back up, Tonya yawned. "Well, we should get back home already."

Peeking at the map, Snape sighed. "It's empty right now, but I'll walk back with the two of you. I want to see how much they've improved since I've last seen them."

"They're actually improving a lot," Tonya explained with wide eyes. "They seem to have nonverbal spells down pretty good, and they work great in teams. I was impressed with what I saw so far."

"I'm pleased then," looking back at the healer, Snape gave her a short nod of his head, "I'll return later tonight, Poppy, for the instructions on how to make the potion for Tonya."

"Very well, Severus, I'll start writing it now. It was lovely seeing you again, Tonya. Do come back if you have any more worries or questions."

"Thanks, Madam Pomfrey," Tonya smiled, unconsciously rubbing her stomach.

The walk back to the Room of Requirement was filled with silence. Twice, the trio had to remain hidden to avoid being caught by Prefects patrolling the sleeping corridors. By the time they reached the room, Harry presented Tonya and Charlie with the final Horcrux that Voldemort had hidden. Charlie wrapped it up in a cloak that Bill presented him with, then the duo said their goodbyes. Remus and Tonks were staying back at Hogwarts so they could continue to work with the younger ones. Leaving Hogwarts, Tonya felt a funny sensation. It felt almost as if Draco had been watching her the entire time.

_**We did it! Make it known that on the second of April, 1996, we had collected the final Horcrux that Voldemort purposely created. Ron and Hermione will go into the Chamber of Secrets in only four days then we'll even have a crate filled with basilisk fangs. Once we have those fangs we can only sit back and wait. This has turned into a waiting game, it seems. It's like a test to determine our patience. How much longer can the Order sit still once they realize they have everything they need to destroy Voldemort right in their own house? How much longer can I pretend that I'm willing to lose you before they call me out on my lies? **_

_** Waiting games had never been any fun, and I'm not looking forward to waiting any longer. But waiting is important in this final month. Harry and everybody else is improving in their fighting skills, and Snape's seemed to realize that it doesn't matter how good Harry becomes at Occlumency, because Voldemort will forever see into his mind as long as he's a Horcrux. All the training had been for nothing because their mentally linked – the only good thing about learning this (for not even my Harry had pieced that together) is now knowing that Harry could look into Voldemort's mind whenever he feels like it. We don't encourage it though in fear the Voldemort will realize what he's up to. We can't do anything to alert him to our presence!**_

_** I saw Madam Pomfrey, and she proved my theory that you're a boy. I already knew that though, and so did you. Seeing you again, and even getting information on how to take care of you while you're inside of me, only made me more wishful in wanting to keep you forever. If I don't return to our original time, could I keep you with me forever? I would ask but I fear that if they knew what I was thinking they would force me back into the time filled with despair. I don't want to return there. I know I've been thinking about it for a while now, but my thoughts are growing stronger. My dreams are becoming more vivid, and I see your father in everything that I do. Tonight while at Hogwarts I even felt his familiar gaze on me – it was like he was watching me from a safe distance. It's gotten easier to keep a smile on my face and it frightens me. How could I have lost myself in only a few months? How can my mind twist and turn so many times until I'm lost in confusion?**_

_** How can I be alright with losing you in one moment then want to secretly plan to keep you in the next? I thought I would be okay with giving you up in order to save your father and everybody else as long as I didn't become too attached to you, but how is it possible to not become too attached when you're inside of me? You affect everything that I do, and becoming attached to you has become a daily routine of mine. It's like a ritual – I dream of you, I think of you, I eat for you, I feel your pain, I feel your presence – it's all because of you! I wasn't planning on this happening, and it's taking a toll on me. How can I keep pretending when you've already become my life?**_

_** It's inevitable to become hurt now. I've become too attached, and the mission is now slowly turning into a blur in front of my eyes. I want to save everybody here, but saving everybody means killing myself in the most painful of ways.**_

_** Please forgive me, my son, but I take no comfort in knowing that I'm sacrificing everything I love just for others to be happy. I'm losing my husband and son while they gain their son, brothers, and friends. I feel like it's almost ironic – the life of one filled with sin and the life of an innocence plus the sanity of a muggle all in trade for hundreds of lives.**_

_** Is it normal to sometimes regret making those sacrifices? That's what makes us human isn't it? We make choices only to suffer through regret? I know that my sacrifices are saving hundreds of good people, but I've willingly given up the life of my unborn child. When your father came to me in a dream he begged me to turn my back on this, he wanted me to return to the time where I'd have you, but I was too selfish to give in to his pleads. I wanted to give you up just to ensure that he'd have a future, but was it worth it? Is a future without you in it a future at all?**_

_** Sometimes I feel like a child, and then I remind myself that in some ways I am a child – I'm only twenty. Then I think back to James and Lily Potter and I grow disgusted with myself in more ways than anyone will ever know! James and Lily were only twenty-one when they sacrificed themselves to save Harry. They were the same age as your father and I when they had Harry, and they were only one year older than us when they willingly gave up their lives to save their son. They saved their son… I'm sacrificing mine… **_

_** What kind of mother am I? What kind of mother willingly sacrifices their child just to save the life of their other half? Sometimes I like to pretend that Lily didn't sacrifice her life to save Harry, but that she did it because she couldn't live without James. To make myself feel better I think ill of Lily Potter's memory and I like to tell myself that she selfishly forced her son to live a life without either of his parents just because she couldn't stand the idea of being alive while the love of her life was dead. Then I think that Lily and I may be more alike than people would think… it isn't a nice thought, but it helps me to sleep at night.**_

_** Your father would be ashamed if he knew how I felt. The thoughts that run through my mind are enough to drive any person insane, and I have to hear them every second of the day. It's like a cross between reality and depression; you start to wonder what's real and what your mind has created. There is no happiness, only a dark shadow constantly haunting you.**_

_** We only have a little over a month left. Maybe I'll find peace with myself by then…**_

Wiping the tears from his eyes, Sirius stared down at the young pregnant woman sleeping on the bed. He came into her room to call her down for breakfast, but he ended up seeing the open notebook lying next to her instead. Feeling some sort of tug towards the pages, he quickly read the fresh entry, and now he wished he hadn't. Is this what the young muggle was going through? Is this why they noticed she was slowly pulling away from them? Were these haunting thoughts the reason why she no longer stayed downstairs to play games with Charlie? Using a duplicate spell on the book, Sirius carefully placed the original book back on the bed next to the sleeping girl.

"I have to talk to Draco!"

Remus and Charlie both snapped their heads up to where the convict was running towards them. "Why?" Charlie's eyes widened when he saw the book that Sirius was waving around. "Where did you get that?"

"You knew about this?" Sirius shouted at him.

Blushing, Charlie nodded his head. "I'm the one who brought it for her. I knew that she was having second thoughts about losing the baby, so I brought it so she could get her true emotions out."

"Have you read it?"

Charlie shook his head. "In the beginning she would let me read it, but then she became secretive about it."

"That's because she feels like she's a selfish mother for willingly giving up her baby," Sirius explained, throwing the book at the two confused wizards on the couch. "I went to wake her up for breakfast, and her book was opened next to her. It looks like she fell asleep right after writing in it. I read her latest entry, and I'm worried about her. She's depressed, and I'm scared of what she's going to do just to ensure all of our safety."

Scanning through the pages, Remus gasped. "She might do something foolish enough to get herself killed during the battle."

"Especially if she feels she has nobody to return back home to," Charlie added; his eyes widened with fear. When did Tonya's thoughts start turning into this?

"I need to talk to Draco," Sirius told them. "He has a right to know about this."

"I'll contact Severus," Remus nodded his head, jumping up. "I'll see if you can get in there tonight!"

**Only 3 more chapters until this story is completely pau! Are you guys excited? I know I am… but I'm going to miss this story so much! Please review. What do you guys think about Tonya's thoughts, and Sirius finding the diary then reading it? I really do miss reviews!**


	27. Haunting Thoughts

Haunting Thoughts

Draco sat on one of the chairs in the Room of Requirement. Snape found him during lunch and slipped him a note telling him that he was to go to the room by himself that night. Harry cancelled the DA meeting specially just so Draco could have this apparently important meeting. He was shocked when he entered the room and saw that only Sirius Black was sitting in there. He had been half expecting to find a pissed off Tonya waiting for him; demanding to know how he found everything out, but instead he found his estranged cousin. Sirius looked old and tired – nothing like the carefree teen that his mother had always told him stories about. Sirius quietly sat across from him in a separate chair, allowing Draco to read through the book by himself.

The book started off with timed schedules filled with trips to the loo and food diaries of what Tonya had eaten, and there were cute stories of memories back in Tonya's time and even a list of name suggestions. There were entries sometimes filled with only drawn pictures, and his fingers even found themselves brushing against a picture of the future him with his arms wrapped around a laughing Tonya. They both looked happy at whatever was making them laugh, and the Draco in the picture seemed to be whispering something to her causing Tonya to go from laughing to blushing in only mere seconds. But then he noticed something odd – the entries got darker and darker. They went from happy notes to regrets about everything.

Draco's eyes were filled with tears by the time he reached the final entry. "She's depressed."

Sirius nodded his head in agreement. "We noticed that she was pulling away from all of us, but we thought it was the hormones."

"Does she know that you saw this?" Sirius shook his head and Draco sighed. "She hates herself for having normal thoughts."

Sirius nodded his head again. "We forced her out of her room today and we got her to play games with us again. Charlie even managed to convince her to sneak out with him so they could visit Fleur. We don't know want her to know that we found her book, but we also don't want her feeling guilty. She's sacrificing everything for us, and none of us blame her for wishing she wasn't."

"She mentions something about a bloodied vision of me," Draco frowned, flipping through the pages again. "She mentions it quite a lot of times actually…" Draco thought back to the night when the bloodied version of him took him through an assortment of memories – it was that bloody version of him that told him the truth about everything.

"Yeah, she told all of us that she saw some vision of the dead you," Sirius sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "She told us that the dead Draco called her selfish for getting rid of their child. He claimed that in a world with him dead he at least lived a life filled with true love and happiness and that he would be able to watch their child grow, but she told him she couldn't live in a world without him."

"So that's what she means when she says she wishes she could take that back," Draco sighed painfully. "I'm not ashamed by her thoughts. It hurts me, but it doesn't shame me."

"Tonya's broken, and none of us had even noticed it. Moony and I have been so busy working on the cursed items from Gringotts, and Charlie's been gone trying to meet up with everybody else that none of us had even noticed the guilt eating away at Tonya. Neither of us knows what to do, but we all agreed that you have every right to know about this."

Draco nodded his head and looked up. It was weird to see how grey Sirius's eyes were. "Thanks. I don't know what to do either, but I'm grateful that I at least know about this now. It's not like she knows that I know the truth about anything so I can't exactly walk up to her and tell her that I don't think she's being selfish, and that I'm proud of her for doing this. I know this is a hard decision for anyone to make. She's only twenty, and yet she's making choices like a fully grown adult. This isn't a mistake of hers; it's a brave choice to save hundreds of lives."

"We all agree with you," Sirius smiled, "But it's not like we can tell her that. I don't think even Molly would have been able to make such a hard decision like this."

Rereading the paragraph about thinking that Lily sacrificed herself just because she couldn't live without James, Draco smiled to himself. "I've seen the future, Sirius, and the love that Tonya and I had was undefeatable. I'm sorry that she's thinking ill of your friends, but I think I'm going to think like her on that part."

Sirius chuckled. "Moony and I both agreed with her as well. We know that Lily loved Harry so much, but reading Tonya's thoughts from last night we both agreed that it made some sense. We know that Lily never would have accepted Voldemort's offer to live in place of Harry, but Lily was smart enough to save both of their lives. Lily was a mother, but she was also the other half to James's soul and the thought of living with him gone would have been too much to bear."

"I only wish that the time hadn't come where Tonya would ever put that much thought into it," Draco sighed sadly.

Clearing his throat, Sirius wrung his hands. "We were thinking – Charlie, Remus, and I – and we all came to the conclusion that from what we read, which is only last night's entry, that it sounds like Tonya might foolishly get herself killed just so she could join you and your son."

"No," Draco shook his head, opening the book up to a past entry. "_**It wouldn't matter what I do, because it's already in motion. You're already slipping through reality, and where you're going I cannot follow. Sometimes I think I would be better off joining your father, but I can't. Not because I'm weak or because I'm scared, but because, like I said, everything is already set into motion. I came here to prevent his death, which means he'll live and I'll be alone either way. The best thing for me to do would be to just live.**_"

"We didn't read anything else," Sirius explained. "We only read last night's and it sounded like she was willing to die."

Nodding his head in agreement, Draco read the latest entry again. "That's true," his eyes narrowed, "It does sound like that, but I don't think she meant killing herself literally; I think she meant it metaphorically. She's not planning on me being there and waiting for her, so she's already slowly losing her mind. She's painfully killing herself with her thoughts and memories."

"At least we can clear our minds with that then," Sirius sighed in relief. "But what should we do, Draco? We can't allow her to keep thinking like this in general?"

"Keep her busy," Draco announced. "Tell Charlie to keep taking her to Fleur's flat, or keep playing games with her. Ask Kreacher to keep her busy in the kitchen or something – just constantly keep her busy; don't give her the time to think at all."

Slowly nodding his head, Sirius tried to think of possible ways to keep Tonya constantly busy. "She'll probably bruise us up, but it's worth it. Getting bruised is the least we can do to repay her for everything she's done for us."

"She's _not _sacrificing anything!" hissed Draco. "I'm going to be waiting for her in the future!"

Sirius chuckled and scratched at his hair. "Yeah, but she doesn't know that, Draco."

"But the rest of us do, and you can all give her hope. Just keep her hope alive; she can't lose that."

_Draco was sitting on the floor with his back against the couch. Lying on the couch was Tonya. Her hand was resting on Draco's shoulder and playing with the long blonde strands. George and Angelina were leaning against each other on the floor, not too far away from them. The two couples were hanging out in Draco and Tonya's flat, both watching a movie on the telly. Angelina had tried explaining the concept of the movie, Big Daddy, to George but he didn't seem to understand it so Tonya invited them over so they could watch it as a group. _

_ George and Draco were both laughing their arses off, while Angelina and Tonya rolled their eyes at their other halves. They loved this movie as well, but they loved the two boys' reactions even more so. "That kid is amazing!" George barked out._

_ "I want a kid just like him!" Draco announced. Turning his head, he looked at his amused wife with wide eyes. "Love, I want a kid just like him. Please, can we have a son just like him?"_

_ Placing her hand over her stomach, Tonya chuckled. "We cannot have a kid like him, Draco."_

_ He started to pout, "What? Why not?"_

_ "Pouting isn't going to work with me," Tonya rolled her eyes. "As much as I love 'Frankenstein,' I don't want a kid identical to him. I want a miniature you and me mixed together."_

_ "As long as there's more you than Draco mixed in there," George called out from where he was sitting. "But whatever your kid's named, I'm calling him Frankenstein; that's his official name."_

_ "No, Draco Lucius Malfoy, we are not naming our kid Frankenstein!"_

_ Draco started to pout again. "I'm calling him Frankenstein!"_

"Hey, you okay?"

Looking up at Bill, Tonya realized she had been daydreaming again. "I can't believe I forgot."

"Forgot what?"

"I suspected it," she whispered in a dazed voice.

"Suspected what?" Charlie asked. He had been sitting across from his brother and honorary sister, and he also noticed the dazed look that Tonya had. It had been two weeks since they found out what she had truly been feeling for a while now, and they've all been doing really good in trying to keep her busy, but they couldn't stop her from dreaming or getting the occasional flashback.

"We were watching a movie," Tonya explained in a soft whisper. She was the only one home with the two brothers right now. Sirius and Remus went to Hogwarts to meet up with Snape and McGonagall. "We were with George and Angelina, because Angelina wanted George to watch it. Draco ended up begging me to give him a child that acted just like the main boy in the movie, and I already suspected it. It was a week before he was killed, and I suspected I was pregnant. I didn't tell him anything though, because I didn't take any tests yet."

Charlie and Bill both looked at each other. Neither of them knew how to react to what they were just told. After a long moment of silence, Bill reached out and grabbed onto Tonya's hand. "Were you planning on taking the test soon?"

"No," she shook her head. She suddenly nodded it then shook it again. "I mean, I was planning to originally, but then I completely forgot about my suspicions until I got here. He looked so excited to have a kid just like Frankenstein. He and George even agreed that they were going to name our son Frankenstein."

"Frankenstein?" the two brothers gawked.

Laughing at their reaction, Tonya started to explain to them what Big Daddy was about. She told them all about the little boy who wanted to be known as Frankenstein instead of Julian, and she laughed while explaining who Adam Sandler was as well. She noticed that she'd been feeling better over the past two weeks. Sirius and Remus were the first two to apologize for abandoning her in the haste of destroying the cursed items, and then the two oldest Weasley brothers apologized as well. They all claimed to have noticed that they haven't spent any time with her. Charlie started taking her to Fleur's with him, and Bill would take the time to teach her how to play certain wizarding games that she had never been good at.

It was tiresome, and she wanted nothing more than to ditch them but then she felt even guiltier – they were making an effort to spare time for her, and she was planning to ditch them. Spending as much time with them as she was though helped Tonya to keep her mind clear from all of her guilty thoughts about wishing she had never come here to save all these people, but it also made her more tired than she usually was, which also made her grumpier than usual. It wasn't fun to spend all of her time on her feet, and Charlie seemed to make it a point to force feed her normal food. The potion from Snape helped keep the food down most of the time, but it made Tonya feel like she was missing out on more important parts of her pregnancy.

_ "Go away…" Tonya groaned._

_ Chuckling, Draco shook his head. Kneeling behind his fiancée while she emptied out the pale yellow colored foamy substance from her stomach, Draco held onto her hair; keeping it from being puked on. "I told you to take the potion before meeting up with the girls."_

_ "But being sick the next morning is the most crucial part of drinking."_

_ Laughing when Tonya started to groan again while puking some more, Draco shook his head fondly at her. "Is this what you consider fun, love?"_

_ "Why bother getting drunk if you're only going to take a stupid potion to prevent from getting drunk?"_

_ "At least let me give you a hangover potion?"_

_ "But it's just not natural – ugh!" Tonya continued to puke into the toilet. She kept trying to push Draco away from her, but he just ignored her pleadings to leave her alone. _

_ "I'm sure that the girls are all taking hangover potions."_

_ "Then they'll never experience the true experience of growing up and drinking for an entire night. Now go away, I don't want you to see me like this."_

_ Rolling his eyes, Draco flushed the toilet for Tonya and even began to wipe her mouth with a cloth. "I'm not going to let you suffer through this alone. Now, c'mon, up you get," helping Tonya stand up, Draco used his wand to turn the shower on. After helping Tonya strip out of her clothes, he helped her into the shower. "Now scrub down and I'll get you some crackers and water."_

_ "No potions!" Tonya shouted at the retreading back of her fiancé. "I'm dealing with this hangover the muggle way, to remind me of why I'm never going to the bar with Ginny them ever again."_

_ Laughing, Draco turned around and leaned against the door of the loo. "I thought you were all just going out for a couple of butterbeers. Whose idea was it to do shots?"_

_ "Hermione's," Tonya groaned, just allowing the hot water to rapidly beat down on her back. "But it was Luna who wanted to do triple shots."_

_ Draco laughed again. "They were planning on the potions the next morning."_

_ "Then hell to them," Tonya muttered, drowning her face under the stream of hot water._

Hermione was sitting between Harry and Ron in Charms. Flitwick was going over the summoning spell once more, but Hermione couldn't seem to concentrate on what she was doing. She could feel the intensity of the gaze from across the room. Every time she managed to look back though, she would see Draco just openly staring at her. "Why does he look as if Christmas came around again?" Ron whispered.

"I don't know," Hermione whispered back, "But it's quite frightening."

"Blaise can't seem to get him to stop smiling," Harry also whispered. "Hermione, what did you to him?"

"Nothing," hissed Hermione.

"Did somebody hit him with a cheery spell?"

"I don't know. Do you think he's broken?"

"He looks like he's daydreaming about something."

"Well can he not do it while staring at me; I'm starting to fear for my life."

"It is extremely scary. Not even Luna smiles that much."

Blaise kept elbowing Draco, trying to gain his attention. "You look mental," he hissed.

"I'm just really happy right now."

Rolling his eyes, Blaise looked back and was just happy to see that none of the other Slytherins noticed what was happening. "Why?"

"Hermione's a drinker," Draco smirked, still staring across the room at the scared muggle-born. "She loves to drink shots, and she loves to drink firewhiskey, and she's a drinker."

"Blimey!" Blaise rolled his eyes. "You're scaring the girl! Stop staring at her like a deranged man. That is not an appropriate reason to stare at people like that, Draco."

Sitting on the floor with her back against the couch, Tonya kept her legs spread open. Fleur had come over to spend some time with Bill, and the four of them had decided to play a game that Tonya hadn't played since the last time Fleur came to her flat to ask for help with Teddy. Ever since Fleur had become pregnant with Victoire, Teddy was unable to be pulled away from the pregnant Veela. It quickly became obvious that Teddy was meant to be mated with the unborn Weasley child, and it amused everybody except for Bill. Charlie, Bill, and Fleur were all spread out throughout the floor as well, all sitting in a makeshift circular square.

"And Teddy loves to play this game?" Charlie asked while rolling the ball across the floor to Tonya.

Nodding her head in response, Tonya rolled the ball to Fleur. "I haveen't played thees game since I waz a leetle girl."

"It's fun though, right!" Tonya grinned.

Bill rolled the ball back to his brother. "Of all the games to want to play, Tonya, you chose this one?"

"Ooh!" Fred and George ran into the room. "You're playing Roll-Roll?"

"We love this game!"

Bill looked at his brothers with an exasperated look. Fred and George settled themselves into the group on the floor, inviting themselves to play with them. "How do you know about this game? It's a muggle thing."

"Angelina likes to play it when she gets bored," the twins both replied in unison.

Everybody watched to see how Fred would react to George having the same reply as them, but Tonya spoke up. "Angelina taught them how to play this in their first year. They play it with Lee all the time too."

"Tonya was explaining that leetle Teddy loves thees game too," Fleur explained to the twins, while rolling the ball to Fred.

"Smart kid," George grinned from where he was sitting. "It's quite addicting."

"We've tried playing it together since we left Hogwarts, but it's just not the same with only two people," Fred explained to the group.

"So what did Angelina say?" Charlie asked, while rolling the ball to George.

Fred opened his mouth to answer, but quickly snapped it shut. He was no longer with Angelina – she was with George now and he respected that. George gave his twin a small smile in thanks before replying. "She told Lee the truth about everything, and the two of them are going to start going to the training sessions tonight. When we left they were talking to Sirius, Remus, and Snape."

"Did she show Lee the pictures?"

"Didn't have to," Fred chuckled. "He believed everything once it was said."

"He was bit upset that Angelina found out before he did, but he's over it now."

"It helped when we introduced Remus and Sirius as Moony and Padfoot."

"Angelina gave Lee a heads up last night, but we explained everything in detail today."

"Can I have a cookie?"

Scowling at Fred for asking such a ridiculous question, Tonya broke the pattern by beaming the ball at his head. "Twit!"

The following days were all filled with the same routine – Tonya wasn't allowed any time by herself, and everybody made sure to keep her busy to the point where once she reached her room she instantly fell asleep. Tonya didn't even have any more time to write inside of her notebook. She would be worked so hard to the point that she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore. It was good at keeping her mind busy, but no matter what it did to keep her busy until she fell asleep, her busy days couldn't stop her dreams.

_Standing at the table, Tonya smiled down at the small family in front of her: a blonde haired father, a dark haired mother, and a little blonde haired boy that had his mother's brown eyes. The father was ordering a hamburger while the mother ordered a salad, but the boy was insisting on having spaghetti. The parents were frustrated, but Tonya could still see the obvious love in their eyes when the boy insisted on a spaghetti plate with a large strawberry milkshake. The boy had to be no older than five, and his parents were insisting his meal choice would make him sick but he refused to believe that anything else could satisfy his hunger. He wanted spaghetti and a strawberry milkshake and nothing else would cure him of starvation._

_ While listening to the parents arguing with the little boy, Tonya looked up. She saw the storm clouds just as quickly as she could hear the thunder and see the lightening. Two teens chose that moment to run into the diner; a young couple no older than sixteen, with the boy holding his jacket over his and his girlfriend's heads. Looking back out the window, Tonya suddenly pictured Draco sitting in the apartment by himself. She remembered what he described the skies of London looking like during the reign of Voldemort over the past years, and she dropped her notepad filled with orders from customers. _

_ "An emergency came up!" Tonya shouted at the diner's manager, grabbing her purse and umbrella then running out of the dinner without answering any of the questions shouted at her. She continued to run across the town until she came to the entrance of wizarding bar._

_ "Tonya?"_

_ Looking up when she saw the familiar brown haired wizard that was kind enough to lead her into Bridgewater Alley, Tonya smiled up at him. "Hey, Mike."_

_ "Come in, come in," the bartender quickly placed a drying spell on Tonya and led her into the bar. "What are you doing running out into a storm like that? Is everything alright with your sister and the baby? Were you able to find the boyfriend in time?"_

_ Thanking Mike for the glass of pumpkin juice that he handed her, Tonya bit on her lower lip. "Actually…" she sighed, "I sort of lied about that," seeing Mike's confusion, Tonya felt guilty for lying to him. He was a really sweet guy. "I, well see the thing is… I have this cousin. She's a Muggle-born from London, and when the war started up she ran away from England. She's a student at Hogwarts, and she got scared because You-Know-Who was killing off all of her friends, so she and her parents moved here to stay with me so they could escape the war. I was cleaning my house that day, and I sort of… I accidentally ran over her wand, and I didn't want her to find out so I snuck into here to buy her a new one. I'm sorry that I lied to you, but I was scared and didn't know what else to say to get into the alleyway."_

_ Mike stared at the nervous muggle girl for a couple of seconds then started to laugh. "Don't be scared, girl. I got family over in London too, so I know all about the muggle-borns going into hiding. I'm just happy your cousin and her family managed to get away in time. Voldemort and his Death Eaters had been killing all of them off just for having a wand. How's your cousin doing now? Is she still here?"_

_ Tonya nodded her head, feeling guilty for lying again. She knew that it was necessary though – nobody could know where Draco Malfoy really was. "She's afraid to go back to London. She's ashamed of running away the way she did instead of staying back to fight like all of her friends did."_

_ "Tell your cousin not to be ashamed. She did what she had to do to survive. If she stayed back there, she'd probably be just as dead as her friends are right now. Hell, I'd have done the same thing too."_

_ Tonya and Mike continued to talk about the war in London, and Tonya told as much of Draco's story as she could to show that she knew what she was talking about without letting on that she was harboring a possible fugitive who was thought to be dead. After nearly an hour of talking, Tonya brought up the Dementors. She explained that her cousin feared the Dementors more than the Death Eaters and she asked if California had any of them. Once she was assured by Mike that their prisons were different and that they had no Dementors at all, Tonya thanked her new friend for everything and she ran home. It was forty minutes of straight running, but she had to do it – she had to get to Draco and let him know that he was safe and that the Dementors weren't coming after him._

_ Catching her breath once she reached her apartment door, Tonya managed to slowly open the door not wanting to catch Draco off guard and frighten him by slamming it open. "What are you doing home early?" Draco seemed to hear her anyway – like he always could. __"You're not supposed to get off of work for another three hours."_

_ "I saw the storm clouds," Tonya announced, stepping into the apartment, and leaving the pink and white striped umbrella against the door. "Can you help me out with a quick drying spell? I got a hole in my stupid umbrella while running back from Lodi, and I'm soaked now."_

Draco sat quietly in the room while everyone around him continued to duel with one another. He was thinking back to the weird dreams that he'd been having for the past couple of nights. It was dreams that he'd already had before, but now they were from Tonya's point of view. Instead of him reliving the future while Tonya saw glimpses of it, Tonya was now the one reliving the future while Draco only caught glimpses of it. According to Remus, who showed up every night to train them even more as the date pushed closer, Tonya seemed to be in happier moods throughout the day. Remus admitted that they kept her busy until she passed out from exhaustion, but Draco was slowly starting to realize that by becoming as tired as she was, and not having time to sort out her guilty thoughts, Tonya was starting to dream about the moments in her life that involved children.

"Hey," Neville walked over and sat next to Draco. "Are you okay?"

Draco nodded his head. "You know that book that I'm always reading?"

Thinking back to the weird muggle looking notebook that Draco took to like a bible, Neville nodded his head. "The one that makes you all weird, but you never talk about?"

"Yeah," sighing, Draco ran his hands through his hair, "Sirius brought it to me nearly three weeks ago. It's a copy that he duplicated from Tonya's supposed baby diary," seeing Neville's confusion, Draco explained, "It's a book filled with her thoughts from the practical moment she learned she was pregnant. I didn't tell any of you about it because I feel it's no one's business. Charlie was the first to know about it because he's the one who brought it for her, so Tonya would show it to him, but then Sirius discovered it one night and he showed it to Remus and Bill as well as Charlie. We're the only ones who know it even exists."

"Then why tell me about it right now?"

"Tonya feels guilty for regretting what she's doing," Draco whispered. "She's starting to slowly wish that she never came into the past to save everyone. She wishes she stayed in the future where we were all dead, but she would still have our son."

Neville nodded his head in understanding. "It's normal for her to feel that way. She has nothing to feel guilty about."

"That's how we all feel," Draco smiled. "But Tonya also feels guilty because she also doesn't regret coming here. She mostly feels guilty because she's willingly sacrificing her child's life just to save mine. She doesn't feel like a mother who loves her child."

Seeing the confliction in Draco's eyes, Neville could see that Draco thought Tonya was being ridiculous for feeling such things, but that Draco also wished Tonya would just let him die so their child could live. "If she's showing guilt or feeling any sort of remorse for her actions then it just proves even more so how much she does love her child."

"I've been seeing her dreams."

"Haven't you always?"

"No," Draco shook his head. "I mean, I've always had dreams of my own memories – memories returned to me to help me make sure that Tonya and I still have the future she's sacrificing. But now… now, I'm having _her _dreams. Her guilt is eating at her to the point where all of her dreams involve memories with kids. I'm starting to even dream of moments in her life that happened before she met me."

Neville frowned. That didn't sound normal at all. It proved just exactly how strong their bond was, but it didn't sound normal. "Are these memories that Tonya maybe told you about?"

"That's the thing," Draco shook his head. "They're not. Tonya doesn't talk about her parents much, mostly because she feels like Voldemort would've been a better parent to her than her own, and I don't push her to talk about them. Sometimes she'll randomly say something, but hardly. And last night – last night I had a weird dream about her and her mum talking about kids."

Scratching his forehead, Neville watched as Lee Jordan got flown across the room by a nonverbal spell that Luna flew at him. "So it still wraps around the gist of her memories with kids?"

"Yeah," Draco nodded his head.

Neville could see the conflict still in Draco's eyes, so he sighed. "Draco, mate, you can tell me about the dream. I swear I won't tell anyone, but it's obvious that you need to talk to someone about it. You've been distracted all day."

"Tonya was fourteen," Draco started talking; not hesitating in the slightest. This group became his close friends in the future, and he would start trusting them now because Tonya obviously wanted him to. "She was babysitting her neighbor's kids for them while they went to some sort of lunch date thing, and Tonya's mum came home early. Tonya was cradling the five month old closely to her chest and feeding her while the two and four year olds ran around outside in the backyard. Her mum watched her from the back for a while then approached her. Her mum started telling her all about how kids are hard work to take care of and how she's grateful that she only had one."

Neville's jaw dropped. "Tonya was babysitting and her mum decided to complain about how difficult children are?"

"Yeah, Tonya ignored her mum though and talked about how much fun she was having watching the kids and how she couldn't wait to one day have her own. Her mum sort of laughed at her and said that when the day came around she wished she weren't around to see it, because she couldn't even handle her own kid so there was no way in hell she was going to be around to handle someone else's."

Neville couldn't believe what he was hearing. "But… but they would be her own grandkids?"

"And she didn't give a flying fuck!" Draco nodded his head in annoyance. "Tonya looked so broken when her mum walked away, leaving her alone in the backyard with the kids. I mean, she actually looked broken."

Neville gasped, "And now she feels as if she's abandoning this child the same way that her mum abandoned her. Her mum never loved her, so by sacrificing her son she feels like she doesn't love him either."

Nodding his head again, Draco looked up at Neville. Neville had never seen the blonde boy look so distraught before. "I can't do anything to help her. She dreams of things like this every night, and I can't do a bloody thing to help her!"

_They were both lying down on the bed with Teddy curled up between them. With his hair pale blonde like Draco's, he was shirtless and lightly snoring. She giggled when she heard him snoring, and gently teased Draco, saying that he got it from him. Rolling his eyes, Draco allowed one of his hands to softly caress the toddler's face. Her hand reached over Teddy, and rested on Draco's thigh. They were both smiling at each other then they would look back down at the sleeping boy._

_ "Tonks was my cousin, you know," Draco said suddenly, "Aunt Andromeda is Mother's sister."_

_ "I know, love," she smiled, "Narcissa was telling me. And so was Andromeda."_

_ "Sometimes I wonder how Tonks would react to me watching her son. When she was alive, we never really got along. I treated her like a filthy half-breed and then as we grew older we both fought on different sides of the war," he painfully admitted._

_ "She would love the new you," Tonya smiled, taking his hand in hers. "And she would see how much Teddy loves being with his uncle Draco. You're great with him, Draco."_

_ Staring into her eyes, Draco saw the honesty in them. It caused him to blush, "What do you think?" he asked her, "About one day having our own kids?"_

_ Tonya stopped breathing. Staring into Draco's eyes, she tried to read his emotions. "What?"_

_ "I'm serious," he grinned, "What do you think about one day having our own kids?"_

_ "If I were to tell you I was pregnant right now, what would you do?"_

_ "Probably wake Teddy up by shouting in excitement then taking him to somebody else to watch him so we could celebrate properly," Draco's eyebrows wriggled at this point, "Then I would floo to everybody's house that I could think of and shout at them that we were having a child."_

_ "Well, I'm not."_

_ "I know," Draco chuckled. "You seemed too calm when you asked the question."_

_ "Would you really be excited if we were to have a child?"_

_ "Yes, I really would. Would you?"_

_ Tonya paused for a couple of seconds while thinking back to her past. After a while she grinned. "Yeah," she nodded her head, "I would. I'd like to have your children, Draco Malfoy."_

_ "Well, good," Draco grinned, smirking. "Because my children are the only ones you're allowed to have," hearing Teddy snorting in his sleep, he chuckled. "Well, except for the ones we're babysitting of course. But I want an army of children."_

_ "What?"_

_ "I want us to have our own little Quidditch team and then we'll train them to become pros and they'll all play for Slytherin and they'll defeat all of Harry's kids and become an even better Quidditch player than Ginny."_

_ Tonya's jaw dropped. "I am not having seven kids, Draco."_

_ "And our first six will all be boys," Draco didn't seem to hear Tonya protesting against his dreams. His eyes were glazed with the idea of what he was saying. "We'll have six little Malfoy boys, and then the last one will be a miniature you. She's going to be so spoiled, and she's going to be the best Seeker just like her Daddy is, and with her six older brothers watching her she'll never be allowed to have any guy friends, even if they're gay. We can't trust the gay boys to hang out with our daughter because she'll turn them straight – I see the way Blaise looks at you sometimes."_

_ Tonya furiously shook her head. "I am not having seven kids. We can have two or three kids, and our oldest one will be a girl so she can boss her younger brothers around."_

_ "I am a wizard, love," Draco rolled his eyes as if Tonya was a silly little child. "My godfather was a Potions' Master. I'll simply just feed you potions until you have six boys then a girl. We'll create our own little army of Malfoy children that will make Molly seem as if her family is tiny."_

_ Tonya's eyes widened. "I am _not _having seven kids!"_

_ "Our daughter is going to be the princess of the world and she's going to live in a castle, and she'll have everything specially designed in pink just for her and I'll buy her a unicorn for her fifth birthday, and…"_

_ "My daughter is not going to wear pink. Her favorite colors will be crimson and gold because she's going to want to be in Gryffindor."_

_ "Don't be ridiculous, Tonya. Our daughter is going to be in Slytherin."_

_ "If you're planning on having too many sons then I want our daughter to be in Gryffindor. And I want one of our sons to be in Hufflepuff."_

_ "Now you're talking like a drunken person on the side of the streets. No son with my blood will ever be sorted into Hufflepuff. And our daughter will be in Slytherin along with her six older brothers."_

_ "I'm not pushing out seven kids, Draco; I'm alright with the most being at four. Our daughter will be the first-born and she'll be in Gryffindor. The rest of our kids can all be boys, but our first boy will in Hufflepuff and the other two can be in Slytherin. That's it – that's the only way I'll have kids with you."_

_ Draco rolled his eyes. "We're having seven kids, just like the Weasleys, the first six will be boys, the youngest will be my princess, and they're all going to be in Slytherin."_

_ "I bet you our first kid is going to be a girl!"_

_ "Don't make bets with wizards, Tonya."_

_ "Because you know that you're wrong."_

_ "No, I'm right. You're wrong."_

_ "If you're right and our fist kid is a boy, I'm willing to buy our kids brooms before they can walk. But if I'm right and we have a girl first, we decorate our daughter's room in Gryffindor colors."_

_ "We're having seven kids; six boys and one girl, who will all be Slytherins. If I'm wrong I'm even willing to buy you Gryffindor colored jewelry the day that our final child is sorted into a house other than Slytherin."_

_ "For every child that's not sorted into Slytherin, I want a complete jewelry set in their house colors, and our daughter will have Gryffindor colored jewelry to match her house as well. But we stop at four kids."_

_ Draco smirked, "Very well! And we can stop at seven!"_

"Hey, Remus?"

Turning away from where he was talking to Hermione, Remus saw Draco standing in front of him. "Yes, Draco?"

"What did you say Madam Pomfrey said the baby was?"

"A boy."

Draco smirked, "Looks like our kids will learn to fly before they can walk."

**Eeeek! Only 2 more chapters left guys! I'm still in the middle of writing the Ministry chapter, which is next, and I'm trying to finish it up for the 21st, because I think it'll be ironically hilarious to update **_**that**_** specific chapter on the day that the world is supposedly meant to end. And if everything goes the way I'm planning it, I'll have this story completely pau on Christmas day(: so *knock on wood* but it's closely coming to an end! **

**Thank you for all the new favorites and follows and reviews I've gotten in just the past few days, and please keep them coming! They complete me!(:**


	28. A Broken Killer

**Just let it be known that is five in the morning, and I have yet to sleep… Okay, so I know I said that this chapter would be the Ministry battle, but then I realized you guys didn't know who killed Draco. So I ended up having to split the Ministry battle into two separate chapters to add the killer bit in, because if I kept it all together it was really too long, and it would have been too much overload for you guys, and I don't want to be responsible for heart attacks before Christmas! So I kept the beginning of the Ministry chapter, and added the killer bit into it, and then took some more from the Ministry chapter for an ending to this one… I'm quite proud of myself actually… I have most of the Ministry chapter written out already, and then there's this chapter (which you'll probably like and hate at the same time – so be warned!) and then I still just have to do the very last chapter that takes place after the battle. I'm still debating on whether or not to do an epilogue, but either way it'll all be pau before the new year(:**

**So yes, this is a long chapter(: but be warned… it'll probably upset all of you!**

A Broken Killer

The tension was starting to rise amongst everybody in the Order. Sirius and Remus no longer bothered on trying to break the curses off of the items that Bill brought home to them, and Bill no longer bothered with bringing home more cursed items from Gringotts. Dumbledore had been training Fleur in the hours that she wasn't at work, and even Molly had been busy teaching the twins as much spells and hexes that she could think of. Tonks took to living in the Room of Requirement just to ensure that she'd be able to help students train as soon as they entered. The DA didn't know the truth of why it was so important that they train as much as they have been, but they knew that something serious was starting to come… especially when the professors were starting to lessen their work load on the students. O.W.L.s were beginning to arrive, but not even Hermione Granger had bothered with studying everything she should have been.

Lee and Angelina caught up as quickly as they could seeing as how the others still had months of training on them, and soon enough they were both able to perform nonverbal spells as well. Angelina wasn't that good at blocking nonverbal spells thrown her way, but they all agreed to just make sure that someone was watching Angelina throughout the entire battle. McGonagall and Snape made sure to still give out detentions every night, but they would always assign the students a detention with one of the other professors – even Madam Pomfrey had agreed to take students in to help her scrub bedpans and do other things in her hospital wing. It wasn't until a Wednesday night that everyone realized just how little time they had left to prepare…

The fifth years were all gathered up on the Astronomy tower, working on their tests when Harry looked down. The castle doors were opening up, and Harry's breath got caught in his throat. Tonya told them all about this part. Hagrid knew nothing about the girl from the future because, as much as they all loved and trusted him, they didn't want to chance another Quirrell incident happening. "I forgot about this part," Hermione gasped, looking up to meet Harry's eyes.

Harry nodded his head in agreement. So had he. He knew that it was going to happen, but with everything else that had been going on he forgot about it. He wondered if his favorite professor had any time to even prepare herself for what was about to happen to her, "Just focus on your exam," he sighed, turning back the constellation Orion on his chart.

Looking back at Professors Marchbanks and Tofty, Ron saw they were now busying themselves with the Slytherins who seemed to be snickering about something. Only Draco and Blaise actually looked worried. It seemed like they had only just remembered this night as well. "You don't think McGonagall's gonna get sent to St. Mungos this time, do you?" he whispered once sure that nobody could hear him.

Shaking his head, Harry pointed his telescope towards Venus, "I remember her saying something about having a plan this time. I just hope she remembered about it."

"They just reached Hagrid," Hermione squeaked in a soft voice, the sweat dribbling down her forehead.

Harry nodded his head this time, "Just focus on your exam, Hermione."

Hermione nodded her head to do as Harry said, but then there was suddenly a loud roaring sound coming from the cabin, and everyone surrounding Harry had now turned their telescopes in the direction it came from. Hermione nervously shifted glances between Harry and Ron. Neville and Seamus were also nervously staring at each other while Lavender and Parvati released loud shrieks of shock.

"Try and concentrate, now, boys and girls," Professor Tofty announced with a dry little cough, "Ahem – twenty minutes to go."

Knowing that he actually knew what was happening down at the cabin, Harry tried to remind himself to remain calm for now and just focus on his exam. This is what they were prepared for – Tonya warned them in advance that this would happen. It shocked him how only now Tonya's warnings seemed to make everything real for him. He believed her from the very beginning because she knew things that nobody else did; she told him secrets about himself that he hadn't even told Hermione and Ron. The Harry in the future knew that he wouldn't believe the muggle girl, so he prepared her. Everything else that Tonya told them would happen did happen to certain extents. Because of their knowledge, things happened slightly differently than they were originally meant to, but they happened nonetheless: Umbridge got rid of Dumbledore and invoked that stupid squad thing of hers, Fred and George dropped out with a bang, there were Horcruxes in every place that Tonya had said there would be, Fleur and Bill had found their Veela bond, and even Tonks had admitted her love for Remus. Things were happening that weren't meant to happen yet, and now knowing that his favorite, and strongest, professor would now be attacked only seemed to make Harry believe Tonya even more. At this point Tonya could tell Harry that the only way to kill Voldemort would be by wearing a chicken suit while hopping around on one foot and blowing pink colored bubbles, and Harry would gladly do it without any hesitation. It all came down to this – their survival depends on how much Tonya tells them… and it seems like Tonya told them everything… even about this moment.

"Ouch!" Harry lifted his head from his star charts and saw that several students poked themselves in the face with the ends of their telescopes, when the loud _BANG _erupted into their exam.

Hagrid's door burst open and by the light flooding out of the cabin they saw him in clear night; roaring and banging his fists, surrounded by six people who seemed to be trying to stun him, "Cowards…" Harry hissed underneath his breath. Hagrid wouldn't have attacked any of them if they didn't physically threat him with their wands.

"No!" Hermione cried out.

"My dear!" Tofty sounded scandalized, "This is an examination!"

Nobody seemed to care about the exams anymore though, they were all too busy staring open mouthed at the red beams shooting at Hagrid. Harry could see Hagird fighting back with his fists, while a man yelled, "Be reasonable, Hagrid!"

They could all hear Hagrid roar back, "Reasonable be damned, yeh won' take me like this, Dawlish!"

Seamus and Neville dropped their own exams, ignoring the professors cries of shock as they ran across the tower to stand near their friends. Dean seemed hesitant at first, but then slowly did the same. Harry and Ron both saw the tears in Hermione's eyes as she prepared herself for what she knew was about to happen. "Look!" it was Parvati who finally squealed. She had been leaning over the parapet and pointing to the floor of the castle where the doors opened once more.

"It's McGonagall," Dean gasped, "She's going to help Hagrid out!"

"Now, really!" said Professor Tofty anxiously, "Only sixteen minutes left, you know!"

Nobody listened to him though; nobody cared that they could possible fail their exams. Harry glanced back and saw that he had been wrong – the Slytherins were all still snickering and seemed to be enjoying this far too much. The only Slytherins who looked worried at all were Draco and Blaise. "Why's Parkinson so scared?"

"What?" quickly glancing at Pansy Parkinson, Harry saw that she did in fact look a bit nervous. Frowning in confusion he followed her eyesight and nearly gasped – Dean – she was nervously staring at Dean Thomas!

"How dare you!" McGonagall's scream tore Harry away from the confusing sight of the Slytherin princess. He looked back down and saw McGonagall shouting at the six Ministry figures. "Leave him alone! _Alone, _I say! On what grounds are you attacking him? He has done nothing, nothing to warrant such-"

Hermione, Parvati, and Lavender all screamed. Hermione had been prepared for it, but it still shocked her to no end. "Four…" Harry hissed out through clenched teeth, "They used four bloody stunners on her!" four red beams had shot out from the wands surrounding Hagrid, and for a moment McGonagall looked luminous, illuminated by an eerie red glow until she was suddenly lifted off her feet and landed on her back until she moved no more.

"No…" Seamus couldn't believe that McGonagall had still allowed herself to become attacked like that. She knew what was going to happen – how could she have allowed it?

Tofty, who had also seemed to forget the exam, shouted, "Galloping Gargoyles – not so much as a warning – outrageous behavior!"

"COWARDS!" bellowed Hagrid, Fang howling behind him. Several lights started to flicker on from inside the castle, "RUDDY COWARDS! HAVE SOME O' THAT – AN' THAT – TAKE THAT!"

Hermione gasped, flying her hands back to her mouth, "Oh my-"

Hagrid took two massive swipes at his closest attackers; judging by their immediate collapse, they had been knocked cold. Harry saw Hagrid double over for a bit, and had been worried that a spell had finally managed to get to him, but instead Hagrid stood back up and carried a limp body over his back, "Fang!" Harry shouted, recognizing his friend's large dog.

"Get him!" they could all hear Umbridge's cold voice screeching into the dark night as Hagrid started to run deep into the Forbidden Forest.

It was all silent for a short moment, then… "Um… five minutes to go everybody…"

Harry looked down at his chart and saw that he hadn't even finished half of it. He groaned as he realized that Tonya told him he originally did at least two-thirds of the thing. When he looked over though, he saw that the others in on the same secret as him couldn't do anymore work on their own exams either. Once the exam was finished, the golden trio, along with Seamus and Neville quickly turned in their things and ran out as quickly as they could.

"That evil woman!" Parvati gasped out.

Lavender furiously nodded her head in agreement, "Trying to sneak up on Hagrid in the dead of the night!"

"She clearly wanted to avoid another scene like Trewlaney's," said Ernie Macmillan sagely, trying to squeeze in with them.

"Hagrid did well, didn't he?" said Dean, who seemed more alarmed than impressed, "How come all the spells bounced off him?"

"It'll be his giant blood," Hermione replied, shakily, "It's very hard to Stun a giant, they're like trolls; really tough."

All around them people were talking about what happened, but with one quick nod of their heads, the golden trio silently conveyed to Seamus and Neville that they would be back. Seamus and Neville nodded in response and left towards Gryffindor Tower with the rest of their housemates. Knowing that Umbridge would still be outside of the castle with the rest of the Ministry officials who had tried to attack Hagrid, Harry didn't worry that he left his map up in his room. Running directly to the hospital wing, they all sighed with relief when they saw McGonagall lying in a bed surrounded by Madam Pomfrey, Snape, Flitwick, and an elderly woman with greying hair tied up into a bun.

"Wotcher!" the elderly woman winked when she saw them.

Chuckling, Harry waved his hand at her, "Hullo, Tonks. How is she?"

"She'll be fine," Madam Pomfrey sighed then glared at Snape, "That was foolish of the both of you. The potion could have reacted badly with those stunners."

"Minerva was insistent on running out to protect Hagrid no matter what, and I have faith in my potions."

"Potions?" asked a tearful Hermione, holding onto the unconscious professor's hand, "What potions?"

"The potion that Severus, here, made for Minerva," Flitwick squeaked up from where he stood next to the bed. "It seems that Minerva was as persistent as usual, so Severus made her a potion that would protect her from being knocked out by the stunners."

Tonks grinned, "I'm here to escort her to St. Mungos."

"Which, of course, means that Minerva will be staying in the headquarters to help with all that she can," Snape sneered.

Harry gasped, "That's brilliant, actually."

"Why, thank you Mr. Potter," chuckling as Hermione screamed then jumped back, McGonagall sat up in the bed, and brushed herself up, "I thank you for your concern, Miss. Granger, but I assure you that I am alright. Severus's potion had only put me to sleep for a couple of minutes."

It was Ron who nervously scratched the back of his neck, "But what about the students?" he asked her. "Who's going to protect them now that you're gone?"

"The rest of us are perfectly adequate enough to ensure the safety of our students, Mr. Weasley," Madam Pomfrey scowled at the blushing red head, "Now the three of you must rush back to your common room before Umbridge returns."

Clearing his throat, Flitwick chuckled, "I'll escort you three in case you're all caught. I can't imagine Umbridge being kind to you in any sort of way."

Waking up, Tonya looked down at her black cotton nightgown that Tonks had provided for her. Now that it was spring, and reaching slowly into the summer time, she found it to be unbearably hot, and hated wearing so many layers of clothing. Most females would blush at the idea of wearing such a short nightgown in front of males that weren't her blood nor her husband, but Tonya didn't really give a damn. If they didn't like it they could all leave her alone in the rooms that she entered. Not bothering with brushing her hair, Tonya rolled it up into a sloppy bun, then she quickly washed up. Choosing to stay in her pajamas, Tonya glanced around her bedroom and sighed.

"Good morning, Tonya."

Stopping in the doorway to the kitchen, Tonya frowned at the sight in front of her. McGonagall was dressed in a red colored gown that fell to her feet, and had long sleeves, while she wore a white colored apron around her waist. Standing in front of the stove, McGonagall seemed to be cooking breakfast, "M-McGonagall?"

"Yes," McGonagall smiled kindly at her, "Do get off your feet, dear. I'm making eggs and sausage. Would you like toast as well?"

"Erm…" looking around the kitchen, Tonya saw the frightened stares of Fred and George, who looked as if they could never un-see this sight, "Sure?"

"It seems like Minerva and Severus thought it would be best to still protect Hagird to the best of their abilities last night, and-"

Tonya's head snapped up and the chair that she just pulled out dropped to the floor. She turned to stare at Sirius, "What did you just say? Umbridge attacked Hagrid last night?"

"Yes," McGonagall stopped flipping the sausages and frowned at the stunned girl, "Why?"

Tonya paled, "Then tonight is the battle at the Ministry."

Remus and Sirius frowned as well, "Are you sure, Tonya?"

She nodded her head, "Harry gets the vision during his History of Magic exam – tonight is the battle!"

"Blimey!" George gasped, opening a calendar that he had just conjured, "It is – today's May thirteenth!"

Nodding his head, Charlie fixed the chair for Tonya and helped her sit in it, "We were prepared for this."

"It just – it just didn't seem as if time went by that quickly," Tonya exclaimed in shock, "Are we ready for this?"

"Of course we are, Pet," Sirius exclaimed, trying to calm her nerves by wearing a brave face. McGonagall turned back to the stove and Fred jumped up to call his mum so she could warn everyone that tonight was the battle, "All we need to do is wait for Harry to get the vision then Umbridge will catch him and he and Hermione will lure her out into the Forbidden Forest where she gets attacked by the centaurs, and then – well, then we fight."

"Oh, and Tonya?" looking up at McGonagall, Tonya saw that she was still frowning, "Why didn't you tell us that Mr. Thomas and Miss. Parkinson were in a relationship with one another?"

Confused, Tonya was the one who frowned now… "Dean Thomas? He isn't in a relationship with Parkinson."

"Last night, Harry and Ron informed us that during the exam they noticed the fearful way Miss. Parkinson gazed at Mr. Thomas – it was in a loving way, they both exclaimed."

George started to snicker, "I guess Seamus wasn't the only lion sneaking around with a snake then, eh? And blimey, two best friends with two ex-best friends."

Seeing the sudden way that Tonya's eyes widened, Charlie reached out to grab her hand in a comforting way, "What is it, Tonya?"

"No…" she started to shake her head… "No… no way… no…"

As if seeming to read the incoherent thoughts, Remus had a thoughtful look on his face, "I'm sure you're right, Tonya, I've met Dean and he's a wonderful boy. He wouldn't do anything like that."

"Do anything like what?" asked Fred, entering the kitchen with Fleur and Dumbledore right behind him.

"Ahh, Minerva," Dumbledore greeted as politely as always, "Such a nice sight to see in the morning."

Blushing, McGonagall waved him off then turned back to the stove. Fleur sat in Fred's old seat, turning to the pale Tonya, "What eez eet, Tonya?"

_(In The Future)_

Harry and Bill were running quickly through the forest, drawing a sort of cackling laugh from Harry's lips. The irony of chasing _him_ through this forest wasn't lost on Harry. And when Blaise had returned to tell them where _he _was rumored to be hiding out in, the irony wasn't lost on Hermione and Ron either. Nobody else seemed to catch on to the familiarity of it all, but the golden trio had – it was in this very forest that they themselves had been caught in only a few years before as well. It was this very forest that brought them all together one last time – it was probably this forest that saw the last of _his _humanity. Harry was confused though. What could cause such a kind person to do the things that _he_ did? What brought on this bought of insanity?

"Don't go any further, Potter!"

Bill growled, but he stopped running nonetheless. Harry stopped running as well. Standing in front of them was one of Harry's longest friends. Shooting red sparks high into the sky, he signaled to the others that they had found _him_. His dark skin looked marred with illness from lack sleep and most likely a lack of food as well. His dark eyes were tinted with red and yellow, almost sinking deeply into his face. His dark curls were matted with dirt and what quite possibly looked like blood. The disgust on Bill's face seemed to clarify it for Harry, and he sighed. How could he have allowed such a good friend to turn for the worst? How had he not noticed it?

"DEAN!" Seamus shouted, running to them. Dean sneered at his once best friend, and Seamus immediately stopped running. There were tears in his eyes from the look that Dean had been giving him. Dean – Dean Thomas – his best friend since he was only eleven years old. How could he have lost him so quickly? "Dean?" Seamus sadly muttered, pleading with his eyes for Dean to tell him that they had it wrong – that he had also been on the lead to chase Draco's killer, that he was innocent and had nothing to do with Draco's death…

"Yes, Dean," Dean sneered, and it was nothing like the friendly tone that they had all grown up loving to hear. His face was full of evil and his voice so malicious that it had everyone shivering in fear, "But no one would ever suspect Dean Thomas, would they? Pitiful Mudblood Dean Thomas!"

"But – but why?" Seamus didn't bother to hide the betraying hurt in his eyes.

It was Ron who whispered, "You were in love with Parkinson, weren't you, Dean?"

"How do you know that?" Dean's eyes seemed to flicker with recognition, but it was gone as quickly as it came.

"Because we saw the way she looked at you," Harry announced, carefully training his wand on his lost friend, "During the exam on the Astronomy Tower, we saw how she looked at you."

Blaise frowned, "You were the bloke that Pansy had been sneaking around with? We always thought it was Nott?"

"Yes…" the evil look returned, and Dean had his wand pointed at Blaise, "Because Blaise Zabini and Draco Malfoy are the only two Death Eaters allowed to turn their backs on their beliefs, aren't they? One gay and the other in love with a muggle… no others are allowed to fall in love with a Mudblood, are they, Zabini?"

Seamus shook his head, "Why didn't you just tell me, mate?"

"Why didn't you tell me about you and Zabini?" Dean spat back at him.

"But you dated Ginny," George frowned, "In your sixth year you dated my sister."

"And Pansy dated Malfoy," Dean rolled his eyes. "Do you like where I chose for us to meet, Potter?" he asked Harry, "I figured you would. You always did like the sentimental things that no one else seemed to care about."

"This is where the Snatchers caught Hermione, Ron, and me," Harry nodded his head in agreement, "This is where we ran into you again before being taken to Malfoy Manor."

"Ahh yes… Malfoy Manor – the place that haunts all of us, yet only I seem to remember."

"That's not true," Luna scowled at Dean as if he were a pathetic little child trying to steal a sweet from his younger sibling, "I've been a prisoner in that manor for four months, Dean, and I've suffered worse than Hermione did in the _one_ _hour_ that you've all been there. It's something I could never forget."

Neville pulled his shuddering wife into his arms, and glared at Dean for making her relive her nightmares, "That's why you did it," gawked Hermione, "You killed Draco because we all became friends with him?"

"HE KILLED PANSY!" Dean shouted, sending a couple of red and blue sparks flying from the tip of his wand without meaning to, "He killed Pansy!"

"No," Seamus shook his head, "Draco didn't kill 'er."

"He did," Dean shouted, "He killed her after she flew a curse at Lovegood!"

Luna gasped, tears in her eyes, "You would rather that he allowed her to kill me? We were friends once, Dean. You and I grew close together during our time in Shell Cottage after being rescued from Malfoy Manor, but you would have preferred she killed me?"

"Of course not," Dean snapped at her, "But he didn't have to kill her! The curses that she was flying at people weren't hurting anyone – it only knocked them unconscious to make them seem dead for an hour."

A flicker of recognition went off in Hermione's eyes and she gasped, "That – that's why some of the people we thought were dead were coming back to life after the war had ended. Parkinson was secretly fighting on our side."

"Of course she was. She and I were engaged. She didn't want to be a Death Eater, but she was forced into it. Just as Zabini and Malfoy were… but did any of you give her a chance too? No – and why didn't you guys? Because she wasn't important enough to consider as human, was she? No – she was just another pitiful Slytherin; a Death Eater who deserved to be killed. And by her best friend! Do you know she loved Draco? She loved him the way that Granger loves Potter, and yet he killed her!"

"No," Blaise shook his head, his tears falling freely from his eyes, "Draco didn't kill Pansy; I did," when everyone turned to stare at him, Blaise looked up at Dean and saw the hatred flaring in his eyes, "Pansy crushed Draco's ribs after he hexed her for flying that curse at Luna, and I saw her get ready to attack a group of first years that hadn't managed to make it out of the castle yet. I didn't know she was good – she never hinted at it; ever – so I thought… I thought she really was going to kill them, so I killed her. I killed her without any hesitation because I truly believed she was going to kill those kids. Draco didn't kill Pansy, Thomas, I did."

Dean's jaw dropped. Of all the things he had been expecting to hear today, he hadn't been expecting that at all. His eyes flickered from a stunned Seamus and back to Luna who still looked betrayed. He saw the loathing glares from the Weasley males while Hermione and Harry stared at him pityingly. Then he saw the guilt in Blaise's eyes and he knew it was true… it wasn't Draco who had killed his fiancée in the war – it was the husband of his own best friend. He started to laugh at the irony of it all.

"What happened to you, Dean?" Ron questioned him, "What happened to you to make you kill a bloke who invited you into his home for dinner? You were friends with his wife… you arrived at their flat that day, and he invited you in – HE HAD HIS BACK TURNED!"

Slightly shocked by the tears in Ron's voice as he shouted at him, Dean sneered up at him, "Is that pity for a Malfoy that I hear, Weasley? I never thought the day would come when a Weasley would defend a Malfoy!"

"He was your friend!" Ron shouted at him, feeling a sense of deja-vu from the accusation, "You should have talked to him; the way that we did. We learned to forgive him because we heard his side of the story. He was your friend and you killed him!"

"As you would have killed Potter if he killed Granger!" Dean shouted back, "I loved Pansy. And she loved me! We were to be married – we were to be parents!"

Blaise's body twitched, "Pansy was pregnant?"

"Yes! I was going to be a father! I lost everything that day – my fiancée, my unborn child, I even prayed for death after I found her body, but it didn't come – bloody Malfoy had to even keep me from dying. I threw myself into that curse that Lestrange flew, but then bloody Malfoy had to push me out of the way. He should have just let me be – he should have just let me be killed!"

George looked disgusted at everything was hearing, "How many more excuses are you going to use, Thomas? You weren't tortured, or even a prisoner, in Malfoy Manor for more than an hour. Draco wasn't the one who killed Parkinson. Draco apologized for everything that supposedly happened to you in that one hour of being locked inside a dungeon, he invited you into his home, he invited you to his parties, he invited you over to watch football – because he knew how much you loved it, and so did he – he took you as a friend, and all that time you've been planning your bloody revenge! The sick part is that he's not even the one you hurt!"

"Did you plan that part out perfectly?" Seamus stared at his once best friend with a look of loathing disgust in his face. He couldn't believe this was the same Dean Thomas that he first came out of the closet to. "Did you purposely wait all this time just to earn their trust, and then wait until Tonya became pregnant just so-"

"What?" Dean's head snapped towards Seamus, "What did you just say?"

"Tonya's pregnant," Hermione told him, "She's pregnant and now she's going to have to raise her child on her own because her husband has been killed by a person she once trusted."

"He didn't even have his wand!" Ron was still seething. How could Dean Thomas turn out to be no different than Pettigrew! Why did the bloody stupid hat put murdering cowards into the house of the brave?

"She – she's what?" Harry saw Dean's sneer drop. His wand hand started to falter as well.

Harry nodded his head, "Tonya's pregnant, Dean."

"Is that why I haven't seen her since Malfoy's death?"

Everybody instantly nodded their heads; suddenly relieved that the Dean Thomas in the past had no idea of Tonya's existence. Although, until now, they've never even bothered with thinking of telling Dean anything. Tonya didn't mention him much as a huge part of their circle of close friends, so they just didn't bother with letting him on the truth. "His back was turned!" Ron shouted out once more. "How did you do it, Thomas? Did you follow him into the bedroom after he allowed you into the flat? Did you hex him while he was pulling on his pants? His wand was in the kitchen, away from him, and you didn't even have the bollocks to attack him with him facing you!"

It was Blaise who saw the look flicker in Dean's eyes. It was obvious by the look on his face that he hadn't known Tonya was pregnant – it seemed like he was almost broken at the idea of breaking up a family the same way his family was torn from him. Blaise hadn't known that Pansy was in love or pregnant – it wasn't as if the foolish girl ever hinted towards it… but then again… she couldn't. Pansy didn't know who to trust in those days – none of them did. The Slytherins were all running around blindly. Who else had they killed that had been secretly innocent? Who else had been running around discretely saving everyone they were meant to be killing? Could it be possible that there were more Slytherins on the light's side than they thought?

"I'm sorry…" Dean muttered softly.

Seamus stepped forward, "Dean, NO!"

Shaking his head, Dean stared into the eyes of a friend that he knew he'd lost forever, "I'm sorry, Seamus, I didn't know she was pregnant."

"She'll forgive you," Seamus said, shakily holding out his two hands. Dean had his wand pointed at his own head, and a look in his eyes that scared everyone. Seamus knew that Tonya would most likely never find out who killed her husband because the past would change and Draco would never be killed… especially now that Pansy wouldn't be killed, and no one would be taken to the Malfoy dungeons, but he still didn't want this to happen – he would never be able to un-see this… no matter how much of it Tonya changed, "I know she will, just put down your wand."

"I love her," the twisted scorn dropped, and everyone could see a frail version of their old friend from Hogwarts, "I still do. Tonya will never forgive me, because she still loves Malfoy too. The venom only grows deeper and deeper, twisting all of your thoughts until one day you're killing a wandless man with his back turned."

Hermione started to step forward too, "Dean, please, just put your wand down," she was also thinking of how the future would change and that none of this would happen; but she couldn't stand the idea of just allowing this to happen right now, "We'll talk about it."

"We already talked," Dean shook his head. Looking at Seamus once more, Dean smiled softly at him, "Half an' half, eh? My child would've been just like his godfather!"

Everyone shouted and jumped, but it was too late. Dean uttered the two forbidden words and soon he was falling to the ground. Blaise pulled his husband into his arms, wishing he could un-see what he just saw. Ron stared wide eyed at the body lying on the forest ground, and Harry shared a nervous glance with Hermione. Things would never be the same with Dean. The future would be changing in less than a day, at least from what their memories tell them, but nothing will ever be the same again. They would all have these memories. People would live, and maybe some other people would be dead; Dean would still be alive, and he'll possibly even be married to Pansy Parkinson and they'll have a kid together by the time Tonya returns home to them, but everybody in the forest that day would always remember this – Dean Thomas killed a defenseless Draco Malfoy because of a love that Draco had never ended, and then he killed himself when he realized he unknowingly did the same thing to Tonya and her unborn child.

How could they look him in the eyes when the next time they see him he'll be happy and alive? How could they remember watching him kill himself then see him laughing with a child in his arms? How could they allow Draco and Tonya to continue inviting him into their home when they all know that he was the reason Tonya went into the past in the first place? How could they face him when not even he knew the truth of himself? Seamus was loudly crying in his husband's arms. How could Seamus remain his best friend? How could they all forgive him and pretend like none of this happened? They all stared at the dead body on the forest floor. How could Dean have become so lost?

_(Back In The Past)_

Hermione and Ron both jumped up when Harry hit the ground and started to scream. He was writhing around in pain, and clutching tightly onto his scar – they knew… it was now. Voldemort just sent the vision of him killing Sirius in the Ministry of Magic; it was time. Watching as Tofty helped Harry stand back up, they listened as Harry stammered and lied that he fell asleep during the exam and had a nightmare. Tofty played it off as nerves, and then told him to drink some water. The Great Hall all watched carefully while Harry tried to assure the old professor that he had finished his exam to the best of his knowledge, and then started to walk out. Nodding their heads at each other, Hermione and Ron also quickly turned in their own exam papers. Lavender could be heard gasping that Hermione Granger had turned in an exam before finishing it, but Hermione ignored her – there were more important things to worry about than grades right now.

"Is it time?" Madam Pomfrey questioned once she saw the pale and cold faced boy run into her office.

Nodding his head, Harry ran to the pitcher of cold water that Madam Pomfrey always kept on her desk, "Hermione and Ron are following me," he said, pouring himself a glass of water.

"Harry!"

Clicking her tongue, Madam Pomfrey shook her head fondly, "So you were correct, Mr. Potter. Are you prepared?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded his head again.

"Remind me again, why we still need to get caught by Umbridge?" Ron asked in confusion, sitting on one of the beds.

Rolling her eyes it was Hermione who replied, "Because, Ron, Umbridge is going to catch Harry talking into the fire, assume it's Dumbledore, and then use the Cruciatus Curse on him. It's that curse, and the admission that she's the one who sent the Dementors on him that gets her fired from here."

"It'll also keep her from wondering why most of our student body has disappeared," Madam Pomfrey added.

Putting the glass back down, Harry shuddered, "It was so real. No wonder why I was quick to want to just run to the Ministry when I saw it. I know that it isn't real, because Tonya warned me about this, but a part of me also just wants to check in on them to make sure that Sirius didn't somehow get tricked into going to the Ministry in the first place."

"Well we're going to talk to him," Hermione reminded Harry, "So let's get going if we want to stick to our schedule."

"Good luck," Madam Pomfrey told all of them, "I wish I wouldn't have to, but seeing as it's you Potter, I'll have a bed ready for you. You two as well," she added to a shy looking Hermione and a snickering Ron.

"Thanks Madam Pomfrey," Harry beamed up at her. It was odd how motherly she seemed to him; always taking care of him when he was injured and sick, in a way that his own aunt never did, "And you and the other professors will be guarding the school just in case he senses his Horcruxes being destroyed, right?"

Madam Pomfrey nodded her head, "Once you all leave, we're going to start putting up the wards. The DA will be in position in the Great Hall once the exams have finished, and we'll have the professors scattered throughout the castle while we order everyone else into their common rooms. No one will even suspect anything."

"Good luck!"

By the time they reached Umbridge's corridor, the golden trio found Ginny, Luna, and Neville already waiting for them there. They all agreed that seeing as how it was originally the six of them who got caught trying to get to the fireplace it would be only the six of them once again. Seamus was waiting with Lee and Angelina for Blaise to signal to them that the others had been caught. Draco would alert Blaise through one of the DA galleons when Hermione and Harry left with Umbridge, and then Blaise would get the other three and they would ambush the Slytherins in the office. Hopefully by the time they returned to face the Slytherins, Voldemort would be dead and they wouldn't have to fear their future Death Eater roommates killing them in their sleep for siding with the Order.

"Okay," Harry took in a deep breath, "Ron – you go and head off Umbridge… Ginny, Luna, Neville, you three go start warning people off from this corridor. Hermione and I will wait underneath this cloak until the coast is clear."

Ginny nodded her head, "Lee and Angelina are waiting with Seamus at the end of the hall."

"And Blaise is hanging around the Great Hall, waiting for Draco's signal," Luna added.

Nodding his head, Harry looked at all of them, "I just want to say thank you. Tonya made it known how much you all do to help me in the original story, and I know how much you are all doing right now. I just want you guys to know how much I appreciate it!"

"We love you too, Harry," Ginny smirked with a roll of her eyes. "Now hurry up, so you guys can at least alert Sirius that the time is now."

"C'mon," Hermione, started to tug Harry away, pulling the cloak over both of them.

"You can't come down here!" they both heard Ginny calling to a large forming crowd, "No, sorry, you're going to have to go round by the swiveling staircase, someone's let off Garroting Gas just along here-"

They could hear people screaming, "I can't see no gas…"

"That's because it's colorless," they heard Neville replying.

Ginny's drawling voice drew giggles from Hermione, "But if you want to walk through it, carry on, we'll have your body as proof for the next idiot who didn't believe us…"

"It's time, Harry," Hermione announced when she noticed the crowd starting to thin out. Soon enough there was no one left in the halls. Shuddering as she entered the office, Hermione slipped off the cloak, "This room gets creepier every time I see it."

"Guard the window," Harry told her, walking towards the fireplace. Throwing the floo powder it into it, he waited until the green flames started up before kneeling into it and sticking in his head, "Number twelve, Grimmauld Place!" he cried out.

Everybody had changed. Tonya was now dressed in long black jeans and a red sweater that Bill had charmed to keep her cool. She was also wearing dragon-hide gloves on her hands in preparation for dealing the basilisk fangs. Everyone else had been dressed in robes that they could comfortably duel in. They were all sitting around inside the living room when Harry's head finally popped up.

"I'll take it," Sirius cheerfully announced, running until he too had knelt in the fireplace, "Hullo, Harry."

"Sirius," Harry chuckled, "Give us seven hours. Tonya said it's a five hour flight from here to the Ministry, plus it'll be another hour before we even manage to escape Umbridge, and then about another hour before we can even find the right room we're supposed to be in."

Sirius nodded his head, "We're waiting on Lucius as well. I'm going to send Kreacher back to them right now, and then when they all leave he's going to send Kreacher back here. We're going to give them only a five minute headstart on everything."

"Great, I'll see you th-"

But Harry couldn't finish his sentence, for grubby little hands were soon pulling him out of the fireplace. There was a great pain on the top of his head as if he had been thwacked there, and as he got pulled out he started to choke on the ash he mistakenly inhaled. He soon found himself lying on his back and staring up at a terrifying Umbridge who glared down at him with horrible glee.

"You think," she whispered, picking Harry up and bending his neck backwards so he had no choice but to stare up at her, "That after two nifflers I was going to let one more foul, scavenging little creature enter my office without my knowledge?" Harry ignored the rest of her speech until he heard, "Take his wand! Hers too…"

Trying to hold back his glee when he heard the scuffle at the door, Harry realized that Hermione's wand had just been taken as well.

"Now I want to know why you are in my office," said Umbridge, tightly clenching his hair so that Harry was stumbling as he tried to stand back up instead of kneel.

"I was trying to get my Firebolt!"

"Liar," she sneered at him, "Your Firebolt is under guard in the dungeons, as you very well know, Potter. You had your head in my fire. With whom have you been communicating?"

"No one."

"_Liar_!" Umbridge shouted. She threw him away from her, and Harry slammed into the desk. Harry could now see Hermione being pinned against the wall by Millicent Bulstrode. Draco was leaning on the windowsill, holding both his and Hermione's wands in his hand next to his own; looking at Harry with a smirk.

Confused as to why Draco would be smirking at him in this situation, Harry suddenly heard the loud commotion and bit back his own smirk as well. He and Draco both swiftly nodded their heads at the other, careful not to be seen, as they both prepared themselves for everything that was about to happen from here on out.

"Got 'em all," Warrington said as he shoved Ron into the room. "_That_ one," he pointed at Neville, who looked quite smug about everything, "Hexed Nott for grabbing _her_," when he pointed at Ginny she tried to kick at him.

Harry and Hermione both bit their tongues to keep from laughing at the idea of Neville hexing Nott. That definitely did not happen in the original story – Neville wasn't even originally on the lookout crew until he caught the Slytherins trying to catch Ginny and Luna, and he ran to their rescue.

"Good, good," Umbridge nodded her head, watching Ginny struggle against the seventh year Slytherin girl holding onto her, "Well, it looks like Hogwarts will soon be a Weasley free zone, doesn't it?"

Knowing what was expected of him, Draco began to laugh annoyingly loud at the idea of a Weasley free school. "It'll sooner be a toad free place," Ginny muttered underneath her breath, glad for Draco's laugh seeing as how it covered her statement up.

"So, Potter," Umbridge said, "You stationed lookouts around my office, and you sent this buffoon," she pointed at Ron, "To tell me the poltergeist was wreaking havoc in the Transfiguration department, when I knew perfectly well he was busy smearing ink on the eyepieces of all the school telescopes, Mr. Filch having just informed me so."

Harry rolled his eyes. It was this mistake that cost them in the original story, but it was also this knowledge that helped lure Umbridge to her office in time to catch him talking to Sirius through the fireplace.

"Clearly, it was very important for you to talk to somebody. Was it Albus Dumbledore? Or the half-breed, Hagird? I doubt it was Minerva McGonagall, I hear she's too ill to talk to anyone… I talked to the healer who escorted her out of Hogwarts just last night, myself…"

Harry could see the smug look on her face as she said so, and it took all of his power not to look as equally smug. McGonagall was perfectly healthy. It was Tonks who escorted his head of house out of the castle, and it was this rumor that would throw the Death Eaters off even more so once they reached the Ministry – they were expecting her to be near death, not in full health and dueling all of them. The Inquisitorial Squad started to laugh loudly, including Draco, and that was when Harry decided they needed to pick things up. He couldn't have the Order reach the Ministry before himself, now could he? "It's none of your business who I talk to," he snarled at Umbridge.

Umbridge's face started to slacken, "Very well," she spoke in her most disgustingly sweet manner, "Very well, Mr. Potter… I offered you the chance to tell me freely. You refused. I have no alternative but to force you. Draco – fetch Professor Snape."

Storing both Harry and Hermione's wands inside of his pocket, Draco smirked as he left the office. How could he have once been so foolishly naïve to listen to anything that toad said? Before he learned all about Tonya and the truth of his future, he had been quick to join the Squad and do everything that she told him to, but now he was disgusted by it. The only joy he actually got from taking her orders right now was because he knew it would lead to her downfall. It also pleased him to know that all year she had been nagging on about a secret army that she knew Dumbledore had formed, but she never learned anything about it because the Weasley twins managed to protect it just in the nick of time – or else that would have been something else for her to gloat about.

"Professor," Draco entered the Charms classroom.

Snape looked up from where he was talking to Flitwick, "It is time?"

"Yes, sir," Draco nodded his head, "It's time."

"Very well," Snape nodded his head in turn, and then looked back down at Flitwick, "I'll be back, Filius."

Flitwick looked up at Draco, "Good luck, Mr. Malfoy!"

Harry stared at everybody surrounding him. Ron's lip was bleeding, Hermione's eye was blackened from Bulstrode elbowing her to keep her still, Neville's lip was bleeding as well, Ginny's eyebrows were bleeding, and Luna remained as calm as she usually was. Harry would have thought that it was Luna's peacefully serene look that caused Parkinson to slacken her hold on the blonde girl, but now that Harry saw the way that Parkinson stared at Dean he thought otherwise – perhaps she just didn't want to hurt Luna? Neville, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny didn't stop fighting though. They knew they would soon get free of it all, but they had to struggle – they couldn't draw suspicion to themselves.

"You wanted to see me, Headmistress?"

Harry watched as it all fell into place. Umbridge demanded that Snape give her another bottle of Veritaserum, and Snape explained that she used up the last of his supply and that it would be another month before the next batch finished. Snape and Umbridge got into a small battle of words between one another, but it wasn't until Umbridge shouted at Snape that he was on probation for being deliberately unhelpful that everyone learned it was Lucius Malfoy who had referred Umbridge to the position at Hogwarts. Even Draco seemed shocked by that statement. Had his father known that the evil bitch was torturing all of the students, including him?

"He's got Padfoot!" Harry shouted, remembering what Tonya told all of them when they first met her. These were the words that brought the Order to the Ministry to rescue all of them. It was these words that saved Harry and his friends, but it was these words that got Sirius killed. "He's got Padfoot at the place where it's hidden!"

Snape stopped walking, and Umbridge cried out, "Padfoot? What it Padfoot? Where what is hidden? What does he mean, Snape?"

Turning his inscrutable face onto Harry, Snape coldly said, "I have no idea. Potter when I want nonsense shouted at me I shall give you a Babbling Beverage. And Crabbe, loosen your hold a little, if Longbottom suffocates it will mean a lot of ridiculous paperwork, and I am afraid I shall have to mention it on your reference if you ever apply for a job."

Snape's words hit Harry as he stared at Crabbe, who did loosen his hold on Neville. Crabbe would have never applied for a job because he was dead. Snape would never sign references because, he too, was dead. Staring at where Snape had just disappeared to, Harry realized that if Tonya hadn't prepared him for this moment he would have blindly ran into the Ministry just from Snape's reaction alone. Snape was so good at shielding his true emotions from everyone that even Harry believed he had no idea who Padfoot was, or what he was talking about. He could vaguely hear all the talking around him as he thought about how much he truly did owe Tonya, but he knew that Umbridge had just admitted to sending the Dementors on him – he also knew that she was not about to perform the Cruciatus Curse on him.

At least she was until Hermione shouted out, "NO! No – Harry – Harry, we'll have to have tell her!"

Hiding back his grin that Hermione now owed him ten galleons for not even allowing Umbridge to open her mouth to utter the spell this time around, Harry shouted back, "No, Hermione, no way!"

"We'll have to, Harry, she'll force it out of you anyway, what's… what's the point?"

Harry could hear Ron snickering while Draco snorted when Hermione started to loudly cry into the back of Bulstrode's robes. Bulstrode's face turned into disgust as she shook the crying witch off of her and stepped away from her, "Well, well, well!" said Umbridge, looking triumphant. "Little Miss Question-All is going to give us some answers! Come on then, girl, come on!"

Everyone watched in amazement as Hermione started to talk about Dumbledore's secret weapon that was hidden deep in the Forbidden Forest. Hermione freaked out when Tonya first filled her in on this part – not able to believe that it was she who thought up of lying to Umbridge in such a way… especially when she knew what centaurs did to human captives. Hermione continued to sob into her hands, not wanting Umbridge or the other Slytherins to see that she was mostly laughing instead of crying. She explained that she and Harry had been trying to contact Dumbledore because they needed to tell him that the secret weapon was ready.

_Now!_

Reading the galleon that was burning up in his hand, Blaise carefully made sure that no one could see him. Making his way to the hidden alcove that he knew his boyfriend was waiting in with Lee and Angelina, Blaise found all of them looking anxious and nervous, "It's time."

Draco's head snapped up when he heard the commotion outside of the door, and he smirked when he saw his best friend dragging in the three Gryffindors behind him. They seemed to be spelled. "What's this, Blaise?"

"I caught them lurking about," Blaise shrugged his shoulders as if bored at the idea of catching anyone, "They were planning on breaking out their annoying little friends."

Luna finally turned away from the window she had been gazing at since the moment she had been dragged into the office, "Is it time then?"

"Oh, Luna…" Ginny sighed. Rolling her eyes she said, "You don't announce that it's time. The whole point in taking them by surprise is keeping them from knowing it's going to happen."

Parkinson's eyes started to shift nervously. Warrington also looked around the room nervously. They seemed to be the only two Slytherins who realized something was about to happen to them. "What are you talking about, Loony? What's going to happen?"

"Oi!" Neville shouted out in annoyance, no longer struggling to get free, "Don't call her that. Her name is _Luna_!"

"Sorry about your head," Ginny said, looking up at the confused older girl still tightly holding onto her, "Well, not really."

The girl started to scream out in pain, dropping Ginny so she could hold onto her head. "Ouch!" she shouted, "Ouch, my head! What's happening to my head?"

"Nice one, Gin," Ron grinned when he saw that his sister used a nonverbal spell to make the seventh year witch grow antlers.

Warrington scowled and lifted his wand at Ginny, "You'll pay for that, blood traitor!"

"_Expelliarmus_!"

All of the Slytherins turned in shock to Draco, who now had his roommate's wand in his hand. "Malfoy?" Crabbe gawked.

Tilting his head back, Neville caused Crabbe's nose to break from the heavy impact, and he used Crabbe's shock to shout out, "_Accio wand_!" with his wand back in his hand, Neville soon had ropes binding Crabbe to the wall; unable to reach his own wand or move at all.

"Ginny," Blaise shouted, tossing Ginny's dropped wand over to her.

"_Incarcerous_!" Angelina shouted, catching Warrington and Bulstrode off guard when she caused the ropes to bind them also.

Pansy's jaw dropped when she saw Draco tying Goyle up as well to free Ron, "You – you guys are with the DA?"

Blaise and Draco both froze, but it was Lee who turned to Pansy in shock, "How do you know about the DA?"

"She's in love with Dean," Ron shouted, tying up the seventh year girl with the antlers, "Harry, Hermione, and I realized that last night."

Draco's jaw dropped, "What?"

"Sorry, Parkinson," Ginny replied sheepishly, "But we've sort of got to tie you up right now. We have to be somewhere soon, you see."

Quickly handing her wand to Luna without any hesitation, Pansy allowed the redheaded witch to carefully tie her up, "Wait, you're what!" Blaise shouted.

Pansy blanched, "Don't hurt him, Blaise, please, don't hurt him, I-"

"He's not going to be 'urting me best friend," Seamus assured Pansy, scowling at his boyfriend.

Shaking his head when he saw the look in his boyfriend's face, Blaise glanced over at the stunned Draco, "Tonya didn't tell us that part."

"Because she didn't know," Luna sadly frowned. Walking over to Draco and Blaise she lowered her voice so none of the shocked Slytherins could hear her, "Pansy dies in the war remember? Dean was probably too broken to tell anyone about them."

**Soooo… please don't kill me… you guys have no idea how hard it was for me to write that, let alone think of it. I love Dean, and I've never even heard of Dean with Pansy, but I had Seamus with Blaise (I'm a Seansy shipper) and I had Hermione with Ron (I like Dearmione) and I always thought that Dean would never be able to forgive Draco for what happened at the manor when he was taken. Nobody even suspected him, and yet he was hardly mentioned in this story – only in little pieces that sort of gave clues – but it hurt me so much to make him so psychotic and twisted… and the whole Pansy and him thing too, but… so yeah… what did you guys think? **

**What about McGonagall and Snape with the potion to keep her perfectly safe when attacked by the stun spells, and Tonya with sort of piecing the whole Dean thing together? Did you guys like how I focused more on them escaping the Slytherins instead of what happened in the Forbidden Forest, and the way that I just ended it right there with the lovely wisdom from Luna? So I'll probably update the Ministry battle somewhere between now and Christmas Eve, because I really do want to upload the final chapter on Christmas Day! And if I do the epilogue, which I probably will, I want to edit this entire story before uploading it… which will still happen before the new year(:**

**Please review… I'm ready for anything you guys have to say… I'm prepared! Please don't hate me!**


	29. What We've Worked For

**Sorry, I meant to have this up in the morning (my time, seeing as how it's already Christmas Eve morning for some of you) but my brother came over 6 this morning and decided to do our usual movie Sunday thing and then we had to buy Christmas presents since we haven't gotten anything for anyone yet. So now it's late in the afternoon and I finally only finished it up. You guys have no idea how badly I am trying to make things up for you guys… I haven't slept yet in 53 hours and now I'm starting on the final chapter just to have it up in time on Christmas!**

**So this is it… the battle at the Ministry… are you guys ready for it?**

What We've Worked For

Assuring Pansy that they were going to have a long talk afterwards, Blaise and Draco took the wands away from all of the tied up Slytherins then ran after everyone else. They quickly stopped in the hospital wing first, made sure that Nott didn't hear or see them, and gave Madam Pomfrey all of the wands they collected then informed her of everything that's just happened. Running into some of the DA members while they ran out of the castle, Ron shouted at them to make sure they all had their galleons on them and to be careful. They knew that in the original story Voldemort didn't rush off to Hogwarts during this year, but they also knew that once Voldemort sensed all of his Horcruxes being destroyed he rushed to all of their locations to make sure they were still safe. It was Snape who suggested that Hogwarts be on guard just in case Tonya had to destroy all the Horcruxes before Voldemort arrived at the Ministry. They had a backup plan – if Voldemort didn't show up to the Ministry at all when Lucius called for him they were going to take the war to him… even if it meant returning back to Hogwarts to ambush him. They were going to kill Voldemort tonight, and finally end it once and for all!

"Just in time," Hermione panted, running into the large clearing where they were all meant to meet up.

Harry nodded his head in agreement and caught the wand that Draco just threw at him, "Do you have your robes, Draco?"

"It's in here," Draco announced, lifting up a bag that he had hidden outside of the castle the day before.

"Did you guys manage to get rid of Umbridge just fine?"

Shuddering at the reminder of what she just witnessed between the centaurs, Grawp, and Umbridge, Hermione nodded her head, but Harry scowled, "It seems like Hermione and I didn't want to tell everyone the truth in the future, so Tonya didn't know enough to warn us, but the centaurs nearly tried to kill us. Even when Firenze pointed out that we were just kids, they still tried to kill us. If it weren't for Umbridge being herself, or Grawp trying to kill the centaurs, we wouldn't have gotten away."

"Well, next time just be sure not to leave out any details," Angelina announced, not really paying attention to what Harry was saying. She could feel the invisible beasts licking at her arm that had a scratch on it, "The thestrals are here."

Nodding her head, Luna reached out and started to pet one of the creatures that only some of them could see, "Draco, you must put the robes on now just in case we're spotted entering the Ministry. We can't let Tonya know you're there until she returns back to her own time and it's too late for her to kill us. Blaise, put your robe on as well."

Accepting the red robes that his best friend passed over to him, Blaise took in a deep breath as he stared down at it. "I still don't see why we have to wear red?"

"Because the Order members will be aiming to kill the people wearing black," Ginny rolled her eyes, reaching into a bag that nobody noticed until she pulled it out of her pocket, "And I've been thinking that we should _all_ wear robes as well," reaching into her own bag she started to pull out a number of robes and handed them out, "So that way it'll be easier for us to find each other if we have to."

Harry rolled his eyes at his girlfriend's antics, but pulled the robes on nonetheless, "Great, can we go now? We're kind of pushing for time."

"Who can see the thestrals?" Neville asked, petting the one closest to him.

Draco, Blaise, Luna, Harry, and Lee all raised their hands. Seeing everyone looking at him funny, Lee shrugged his shoulders, "It was three years ago when my gran died. I was in the room with her at the time."

"Seamus can ride with me," Blaise announced, holding onto his boyfriend's hand and pulling him towards one of the creatures, "He's not so good with heights."

Nodding her head, Ginny looked over at Harry, "How many are there?"

"Six," he sighed, "So most of us will have to double up together anyway."

"Those of us who can't see it should ride with those who can," Ron suggested, nervously looking down at his arm that was being tugged on by an invisible creature.

"Sounds good," Draco nodded his head in agreement.

"Angelina can ride with me," Lee quickly offered, pulling his best friend's girlfriend to his side. "No offense but I'm sure George would feel better if I was the guy who Angelina had her arms wrapped around for five hours."

Chuckling at the truth in the statement, Angelina rolled her eyes, "Hermione, you ride with Draco; Ginny with Harry; and Ron you can ride with Luna unless you'd rather ride with Neville."

"No offense Neville, you're a really great bloke and all, but…"

Laughing at Ron's statement, Neville waved it off, "Don't worry about it, Ron, I would choose Luna too."

"No…" Harry quickly shook his head, "No offense, Neville, but I've seen you attempt to ride on a broom before. Ginny you ride with Neville so he doesn't have to ride alone."

Settling his knees behind the wings joints of the threstal, Draco reached his hand out so he could help Hermione get on in front of him, "I know how you feel about heights, so riding in front will be more comfortable for you."

"Thanks," Hermione blushed, "I kind of want to be able to see where we're going too, especially since I can't see what I'll be sitting on."

"Alright, Nev," Ginny grinned up at her friend who, to her, looked as if he were sitting on air, "What do I do?"

Chuckling, Neville helped her up as well, "You can sit in front as well. Put your hands over here, can you feel the mane?" when Ginny nodded her head with wide eyes, Neville said, "Hold onto it and then you can sort of steer it. Harry's right, I'm not one for heights, and I've seen you on a broom before. We'll both be safer if you're the one in control of it."

"This is so much fun," Angelina squealed from where she sat behind Lee, her head resting on his back while her arms were wrapped firmly around him, "It's like riding an invisible broom."

Sitting behind Luna, Ron rolled his eyes at his future sister-in-law, "Only you would look at it that way, Angelina."

"Hold on tight, Ronald," Luna told him, yanking on his arms so that they were tightly wound around her waist. She sat sidesaddle with her legs swinging off of the threstal, but settled in nicely between Ron's spread legs.

Seeing the apologetic look that Ron gave him, Neville laughed then wrapped his arms around Ginny's waist in a brotherly fashion, "Are we all ready, then?"

Harry looked around from where he sat perched on his own threstal, and he wanted to laugh at the sight they all made: eleven people cloaked in red robes were all sat perched on large black skeletal looking winged beasts. "All right," he nodded his head, reminding himself why the comical scene was more serious than it seemed, "It's going to be a long flight – five hours from what the future us have seemed to tell Tonya – and once we get there we've all got to be on guard. You've all got your wands ready?" everyone nodded their heads, and Harry did the same in turn, "Then let's go."

_"Oh god!" Tonya shrieked, clenching her eyes tightly shut and trying to melt her back into Draco's chest. His arms were tightly wound around her, his chin resting on her shoulder, and his musky scent strong in her nose. Tonya tightened her grip on the broomstick beneath her, and twisted her head so that she could rest her face against Draco's chest, "I hate you, Draco Malfoy," she cried out, "Take me back down! Take me back down right now!"_

_ Laughing, Draco shook his head, merging his fingers with Tonya's so the two of them could steer the broom together. He could feel her hair in his mouth as he laughed, while her body was tense against his. "I've got you, love," and it was true – he did have her; his grip on her was so tight that he feared she would soon suffocate, "Just open your eyes, Tonya."_

_ "NO!" Tonya shouted, "Now take me down, Draco!"_

_ "No," adjusting his head so that it was once again comfortably situated against Tonya's, Draco smiled against her cheek, "I promise I won't let anything horrible happen to you, love, it'll all be okay. See, I've got you, and I'm quite good at flying. Please, just open your eyes…"_

Hermione could feel Draco tightening his hold on her as if scared she were going to fall off the broom. Tilting her head back she saw a reminiscent look in his eyes and she realized that he was having another flashback of his life with Tonya. Smiling softly to herself, Hermione turned back to watch as Ron nervously held on to Luna. Luna flew her own threstal as if she had rode on one before, and it wouldn't have surprised Hermione if she did – she was Luna after all.

"You're not as frightened as I thought you would be," Draco announced.

Hermione nodded her head, grateful that he still held tightly onto her, "I'm doing everything but looking down."

"And once you've rode on a hippogriff, a threstal isn't all that bad is it?" Hermione's jaw dropped, and Draco started to chuckle, "You told Tonya about it when you and Ginny tried to help her overcome her fear of heights. Apparently you rode a hippogriff, you've ridden a threstal twice, you rode a dragon, and you rode a broom. The threstal is your favorite thing to ride, and the broom is your worst. You'd rather fly a dragon again than ever get on another broom. Apparently Charlie Weasley thought that was funny and tried to get you to visit him on the reserve when he found out."

The idea of Charlie Weasley making it his goal to get her to ride a dragon caused Hermione to shudder, "I promise that this time around I won't ride a dragon. I only rode it because we were trapped and had to break back out of Gringotts, but seeing as how it won't have happened, I won't have to ride a dragon."

"But you still prefer to ride this other than a broom?" Draco sounded amused.

"The threstal understands my thoughts better than a broom ever could," Hermione nodded her head, "I don't like brooms."

Draco laughed, earning a confused look from Ginny as she and Neville overtook them. "So that hippogriff that my father tried to execute in third year, is it really still living with Sirius?"

"Yes. Have you seen memories of Buckbeak?"

Draco shook his head, "No, in the future Sirius is dead and the hippogriff lives back at Hogwarts with Hagrid under a new name. Tonya's never met it before."

Hermione frowned, "That's why she freaked out when she first saw it. She'd never seen a hippogriff before."

"She freaked out?"

"Not really freaked out. When we were all planning on what to do before we came back to Hogwarts, the day after meeting her, Tonya heard Sirius say that it was time to feed Buckbeak and he asked Mrs. Weasley where the rats were. Tonya went up with Sirius to help him, and now I know that she was mostly curious, and in a minute she came back downstairs sort of pale."

"Did it hurt her?" Draco blanched as he made a vow to personally kill the bloody chicken the next time he saw it.

"No," Hermione shook her head, causing her curls to fly into his face, "She was just sort of in shock. He took to her though, and Remus told us that Tonya's sometimes found trying to sneak Buckbeak the food that she doesn't want to eat."

Draco and Hermione continued to talk while flying, each grateful for the other's company. If someone had told Draco that he would willingly have his arms wrapped around Hermione Granger he would have sent them to St. Mungos to keep the Longbottoms company, but he found that he didn't mind having muggle-born germs on his robe covered arms – he was in love with a complete muggle after all, and Hermione was proving to be a great friend. Hermione was stunned at how quick Draco was to accept all of them, her especially, and when she shivered from the cold of the thin air they were flying in he even muttered an incantation to keep her warm. It wasn't as if any of them would be busted for using underage magic right now – they were all about to fight in a battle soon enough, and the Ministry was completely empty.

Around Draco and Hermione, everyone did the same. Grateful for the robes keeping them from all freezing on their threstals, everyone still had to use a warming charm to keep from shivering. Neville told Ginny why he loved Herbology so much, and Ginny filled Neville in on what life as a baby sister is like – why she always tried to prove herself to everyone that she's not just a baby girl. Ron listened as Luna talked about nargles and wrackspurts, and she listened as he droned on about how the Chudley Cannons would soon place first in the Quidditch leagues. Seamus and Blaise contemplated how they felt about their friends secretly dating each other, and how Pansy turned out to not be evil after all, while Lee teased Angelina about going from one twin to the other until she threatened to push him off of their threstal. Harry smiled as he listened to all the conversations going on around him, pleased to know that Tonya already changed more than she meant to. Everyone would return back to Hogwarts as best friends, and they would no longer have to hide it.

"That was interesting," Ginny announced, jumping off of the threstal after Neville.

Giggling with glee as she gracefully slid off of her own threstal, Luna turned to Harry, "Where to, then?"

"Over here!" Draco and Hermione called out, waving them to where they stood by a battered telephone box.

Harry looked at Draco, "How do you know the entrance into the Ministry?"

"My father works here, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, right…" scratching at his scar, which hadn't stopped burning him from the time he got the vision of Sirius being killed, Harry ignored it; which was slightly easy to do since he knew the vision was fake and the pain was only because he, himself, was a Horcrux answering to the call of its master. The thought sickened him.

Opening the door to the telephone box, Hermione peered inside, "Can the eleven of us all fit inside?"

"You lot go first," Draco shook his head, "The original six that was meant to come here in the first place. Since Harry knows what to do he'll help you out, and then once you're all in the rest of us will follow."

Harry looked at the determined expressions on the faces of Seamus, Lee, and Angelina, and pride swelled deep inside of him. They were all so quick to help him out without any questions, and they were all so quick to be willing to be alone with Draco Malfoy. "Come on, _Harry_," Hermione hissed, pulling Harry into the telephone box that had already been filled, "We'll see you guys inside," she told the others.

Draco stood between Angelina and Lee, allowing Seamus and Blaise to hold onto each other in the silence of the night. His heart was racing in his chest. This was it… they were getting closer to everything that they had all worked for. The Order members would take the few Death Eaters by surprise, forcing his aunt to call for more backup. And when the backup would arrive, they would all jump in as well, along with more backup of their own, until most of them were dead. They all agreed that's what they would do – they were shooting to kill this time around; they didn't want to allow the off chance that the Death Eaters would escape Azkaban again and kill all of them without warning. This was the final battle this time around – they couldn't allow any surviving enemies; not when Lucius Malfoy would be openly betraying the Death Eaters.

"Draco," Angelina called to him, gently tugging on his hand and pulling him out of his thoughts. Draco looked down at the hand intertwined into his and back up at the smiling face. Friends – he thought to himself, they were friends now. He finally had real friends to call his own, that he made on his own (sort of), and these were friends that he actually trusted to not turn on him. "Come on, Draco," Angelina started to pull him into the telephone box, "It's our turn to go inside."

Following Angelina and Lee inside the small telephone box, Draco stepped to the side so Blaise and Seamus could comfortably climb inside as well. They were all crowded together, though not as tightly as the first group had been. "Whoever's nearest to the receiver, dial six-two-four-four-two!" he said.

"Really?" Lee scoffed, "Magic?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Draco watched as Angelina did as he said. A female voice soon sounded inside of the box, "Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business."

With an amused look, Angelina was the one who started talking, "Angelina Johnson, Lee Jordan, Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, Seamus Finnigan… we're meeting with some friends of ours."

Seamus opened his mouth to scorn Angelina for her reply, but the box started talking once again, "Thank you. Visitors, please take the badges and attach them to the front of your robes."

"Blimey!" Lee jumped in shock when five badges were soon sliding out of the metal chute where returned coins usually appeared. Angelina scooped up the badges, looked down at them with a look of mirth, and then started handing them out one by one. Draco read his.

**DRACO MALFOY**

_**friendly gathering**_

"Visitor to the Ministry, you are required to submit to a search and present your wand for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the Atrium."

Blaise turned the badge in his fingers, "_Friendly gathering_? Can we do that again so I can see what it would say if I told it that we were here to set fire to the Minister?"

Chuckling, Lee shook his head and saw Angelina pinning the badge to the front of her robes, "Oi! What the bloody hell are you doing?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Angelina smirked, "I like name tags."

"Not when they alert the enemies to your name," Draco rolled his eyes, reaching out and pulling the badge off her robes, "Wear it at another time."

"Wasn't that insane!" Ron greeted them near the deserted security desk. "We're here on a rescue mission."

"Oi, that's not fair," Lee pouted, "We're here for a friendly gathering. Next time I say we let Blaise do the talking, Angelina."

Slapping the back of Lee's head, Angelina gave him a nasty glare, and then turned to Harry, "It's creepy ain't it? How there's no one here."

"Father told me that there's always a security guard here, just in case someone were to break in," Draco absentmindedly nodded his head to Angelina's statement.

Ginny nodded her head as well, walking until she had her fingers linked in with Harry's, "Even when the Order members were hiding out here to guard the prophecy there was always a guard; it's why they had to hide underneath invisibility cloaks."

"Come on," Luna said, tugging on Neville's hand, "We need to go."

Grabbing onto Ron's hand as well, Hermione ignored the bemused look he gave her. "Where do we go, Harry?"

"This way," Harry started to run, pulling Ginny with him, and everyone quickly followed after him. He looked back to see that both Draco and Lee stayed at the back with their wands out and ready to attack in case they ran into anyone. Reaching the golden lifts, he dashed into it first; moving to the side so everyone could pile on after him.

The cool female voice of the lift said, "Department of Mysteries," and the doors opened once more.

"Let's go," Harry whispered.

Reaching out as they made their way down the long and eerie corridor, Angelina grabbed onto Draco's hand. She smiled thankfully at Draco when he gave her a squeeze of assurance. "So what's the plan?" Ginny asked.

"According to Tonya, this door," Harry pointed to the door that he saw in his dream, "Will take us into a large circular room, which will have even more doors in it. We need to get into the right door that will lead us to the room with the prophecies."

Seamus's eyes shifted toward the large black door, "We can't stay out 'ere while the rest of you go in. How will we know when to enter it finally?"

It was Ron who shook his head, "Tonya assured us that we all manage to make it out of the prophecy room safely, and we all end up back in that large room. That's when we sort of split up and start to get hurt."

"We'll stay in that room then," Blaise announced, "We'll place an invisibility charm on ourselves and stay hidden in that room until we see you guys."

"I'm going to mark the doors with different colored X's," Hermione told them, "Tonya told us that I did so anyway, but that I used the same coloring. I've been practicing a charm that will color the X's on each door, so that way we'll know which one to enter. Make sure you guys watch closely which door we go into so that way you'll be able to follow us."

"And if we do get separated?" Neville asked, looking worried. "I mean, I know we're going to try our best not to, but what if something happens and we do?"

"How exactly did each of you get split up in the future?" asked Lee.

Luna's face still held her dreamy look, "Hermione, Harry, and Neville, and then Ron was with me and Ginny."

Blaise seemed to contemplate everything for a bit then bit his bottom lip and took in a deep breath, "I'll go in with all of you."

"Blaise…" Seamus's hold tightened on his boyfriend's hand.

Shaking his head, Blaise stared into Harry's eyes, "I'll remain invisible so that way they can't see me. If any of them sneak an attack on you I'll be able to attack them from a hidden vantage. They won't be expecting an invisible person to be in the room with you."

"I'll go too," Lee stepped up.

Harry thought about it for a second then nodded his head, "The rest of you will wait for us. When the Order comes you can point them to the right door that we're in."

"We really shouldn't fight near all the prophecies," Hermione groaned, chewing on her bottom lip with a passive look on her face.

Ron rolled his eyes, "Oh, come off it, Hermione. We're going to be in a room filled with Death Eaters and you're more concerned about the prophecies?"

"Well, I just don't think that-"

"Oi!" Draco rolled his eyes, "Do you two think you can finish later? We're sort of pressing for time here? The Order could arrive any minute now, and we're still in the corridor."

"Draco's right," Harry chuckled, "You two can deal with your sexual tension later. We've got more important things right now."

Smirking at the blush on Hermione's face while Ron scowled at both Harry and Draco, Ginny piped up, "You mean more important than Hermione and Ron finally realizing they want to shag each-"

"Oh, honestly," Hermione snarled, reaching out to grab Ginny's ear and yank her into the large room, "I know things about you, Ginerva Molly Weasley, that would cause your mother to make sure the boy-who-lived suddenly become the boy-who-"

"FINE!" Ginny shouted, turning as red as her hair, "Fine, I get it, the next person who makes fun of Hermione and Ron will find themselves at the end of my wand!"

Ron's eyes narrowed, "What does Hermione mean, Harry?"

"What did I just say, Ron!" Ginny squealed.

Snickering at the idea of the bookworm blackmailing the feisty one, Draco followed everyone else into the room. Watching as Hermione glared at Ginny before finally releasing her ear, Draco heard Hermione mutter a spell on the opened door, "The red X will take us back into the Atrium," Hermione announced to everyone who stared at her in awe.

"With everything else we learned, how did you have time to manage extra spells?" questioned a slightly concerned Blaise. He honestly worried for Hermione's mental state sometimes.

Hermione smirked a smirk worthy of a Malfoy, "I'm Hermione Granger."

The room was enough to creep everyone out. Everything was black from top to bottom: the floors, the ceilings, and even the unmarked, handle-less, identical doors. There were branches of candles whose flames burned blue, their cool, shimmering light reflected on the shining marble floor so that it looked as though there was dark water underfoot. Once positive that her bright red X mark that burned bright like flames on the door would stay, Hermione confidently shut the door. Soon enough the candles began to move sideways and there was a loud rumbling noise. The circular wall was moving.

Angelina gave a startled jump and moved her hand from Draco's hand to his arm. He hissed in the pain caused by her nails, but ignored it nonetheless. The only person to ever go to him for comfort from fear before was Pansy, and even then it startled him. He wasn't use to such intimate ways having anything less than an intimate intention. When he saw Hermione grab onto Neville's arm in the same sense, Draco realized that this was something that female friends did – when frightened they held onto their male friends for protection… even if they were strong enough to protect themselves. He noticed how Hermione didn't seek out Ron for comfort, but instead reached out to the nearest friend she could find; which just so happened to be Neville. The same way that Angelina didn't look for her own best friend or for her future brother-in-law, she was already holding onto Draco for support and decided to just continue to cling onto him. It made Draco smile at the thought that someone as strong as Angelina Johnson clung to him for comfort and protection – maybe he wasn't as bad as he always thought he was?

"Thank Merlin for Tonya's accurate descriptions," Ginny sighed from where she clung tightly onto Harry.

Hermione nodded her head in agreement, "I'm just glad that we thought to tell her most of the important things we've been through in our Hogwarts days."

Neville snickered, "Actually, Ron was just always looking for moments to brag to her. I talked to her about it one of the nights that she came to Hogwarts with Tonks. She said that if Luna hadn't overheard Ron telling her all about this night, she would have been preparing us to fight against a two-headed dragon."

"I see Ron's still the same, then," Ginny snorted. Ignoring her brother's glare, Ginny looked up at Harry, "Alright then, try that door."

Seeing that Ginny was pointing at the door directly in front of them, Harry took in a deep breath. Pulling his arm out of Ginny's grasp, he looked back at his friends, "Tonya didn't happen to tell either of you what each door led to, did she?"

Everyone shared nervous glances with one another then slowly shook their heads. Luna frowned, "She did mention some things that were hidden in each room, but she didn't know everything about it. She was confused about what happened in the rooms we ended up in while trying to escape the Death Eaters, and what rooms we ended up in while trying to look for the one with the prophecies."

"Oh, right," Ron suddenly paled, "I'm going to be hit by some sort of cheering charm and then I'm going to release a jar of brains that tries to kill me."

Narrowing his eyes in confusion, Draco stared blankly at Ron. "Brains?"

"That's what Tonya said," Ron shrugged his shoulders, "Apparently I have the scars in the future. Something about _thoughts leaving the most scars_, or something else along those lines."

Sighing, Harry turned back to the large door, "Right then, well, here goes."

Everyone breathed in quietly, as if scared that even the soft sounds of breathing would alert the Death Eaters that they were there – if that was the room they were searching for. Harry pushed, and the door swung open easily. This room was rectangular, with lamps hanging low on long golden chains, making the room seem much brighter than the circular one they were currently in. There were a few desks that kept it from being empty, and in the center of the room was an enormous glass tank filled with deep-green water, big enough for all of them to swim in with a couple more of their friends. Inside of the tank were a number of pearly white objects that were lazily drifting around in the liquid.

"The hell?" Ginny looked confused.

Seamus frowned, "What are those things?"

"They kind of look like fish," Lee contemplated.

Luna suddenly had an excited look about her. "Aquavirius maggots! Dad said the Ministry was breeding-"

"No," Hermione didn't even bother with giving Luna an incredulous look. She quickly walked over to Ron and made sure to pull him as far away from that room as possible, "Those are brains."

Draco saw the way that Ron blanched, and he didn't blame him – they literally were just talking about how Ron was almost killed by brains in a jar. "These are the brains, then?" he questioned, trying to peer curiously into the room.

"Yes… I wonder what they're doing with them?"

"Who knows," Harry tore his eyes away from the eerie looking brains, looking something like slimy cauliflowers, "Come on, who knows how much time we've wasted already."

"Wait-" Blaise was suddenly pointing at the far end of the room, "Look, there are more doors over there."

Looking at where Blaise was pointing, Harry's heart dropped. "Bloody hell, how big is this place?" Ron exclaimed from the safe distance that Hermione was keeping him.

"I don't know," it was Angelina who was frowning now, "But now it sort of sounds to me that maybe you three didn't end up back in here," she pointed to Ginny, Ron, and Luna, "What if you three ran into one of those doors while escaping the Death Eaters?"

The three in question all stared at each other for a short moment before Ron shrugged his shoulders, "Now we know better, we'll only run for the door that's marked. Hermione can mark the door from the inside once we're in the prophecy room, won't you, Hermione?"

Hermione nodded her head as she suddenly lifted her wand to mark the now open door. Once there was a blazing blue X burning on it, she smiled with glee, "The blue door has the brains in it. Hurry, Harry, do the next one already."

The next door led into a large rectangular room, dimly lit, and sort of sunken in in the center of it which seemed to form a great stone put some twenty feet below them. They all saw that they were standing on the topmost tier of what seemed to stone benches running all around the room. It reminded Harry a bit of the courtroom that he had been tried by the Wizengamot in, but instead of a chained chair there was a raised stone dais in the center of the lowered floor. Upon the dais stood a stone archway that looked so ancient, cracked, and crumbling that Harry was amazed the thing was still standing. Unsupported by any surrounding wall, the archway was hung with a tattered black curtain or veil, which fluttered slightly as if blowing in a wind. Harry's hairs on the back of his neck stood on edge – there was no wind in the room.

"Who's there?" Harry called out, making to jump down onto the bench below them.

"Harry," it was Draco who jumped out, startling Angelina and causing her to fall down, so that he could grab tightly onto Harry's arm, "Don't," Draco hissed out, "That's the veil that Sirius falls into when Aunt Bella curses him."

Helping Angelina stand back up, Blaise turned to stare at Draco, "You're sure?"

Draco nodded his head, pulling a reluctant Harry back, "I've heard about that veil. It's the veil between life and death; no one knows its purpose exactly, but it's hidden away in here because once you fall through there's no way to come back. The Ministry doesn't tell people this, but when a prisoner deserves a fate crueler than the Dementor's Kiss they send them through the veil – there's no body, and no way of returning, which means no one can try to bring them back by any means."

Luna shakily took a step forward and placed a hand on Harry's arm, "I can hear them too, Harry."  
>Lee also nodded his head, "They're calling to us. Can't you lot here them?"<p>

Seeing everyone shaking their head, Hermione frowned, "Is it like the threstals, then? Only those who have witnessed death can hear the voices on the other end?"

"Yes," Draco nodded his head. "Hermione, brand this door and we must all make sure that we don't end up in this room no matter what!"

Taking a step back as Hermione lifted her wand, Harry looked at Draco, "Thanks," he muttered sheepishly while scratching the back of his head, "I don't even want to think of what would have happened if you weren't here."

"Tonya already warned you about the room with the veil," Draco reminded him.

Everyone grew solemn when the usually placid and carefree Luna shuddered, "Yes, but Harry and I were still willing to dive into the veil to rescue those people," she pointed out to Draco, "For a moment we've seem to have forgotten that it would kill us. So thank you, Draco."

Draco only nodded his head in turn to what Luna said, and looked back at Angelina, "Sorry for dropping you. Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she smiled, linking her arm into his once more, "You dropped me for a good reason. Ready, Harry?"

All trying to ignore the dark and shimmering grey color now burning into the door with the veil, Harry suddenly frowned, "Tonya said that Ginny and Neville were just as entranced by the veil as me and Luna, so why didn't you two hear them like Luna, Lee, and I did?"

"We could hear them too," Draco and Blaise both spoke up.

Neville shrugged his shoulders, and Ginny had a distant look in her eyes, "I talked to Tonya about the veil before we came back to Hogwarts. She told me that I could only hear the people inside of it because of the time I was possessed by Voldemort. I wasn't able to forget about it and so death sort of clung to me. I couldn't see death, but I could hear it as if it were a fragment of my essence. By preparing for this battle though, I've learned to come to terms with my possession. By growing stronger I've learned how to sort of…" she trailed off, not knowing how to really explain it any further.

"By growing stronger and being able to move past her possession, Ginny was able to let go of her brush with death," Blaise explained, staring at the younger witch in awe.

"And I think that Neville wasn't close enough to hear anything," Hermione suggested with a thoughtful look on her face, "Neville, the only time you've seen death was when you silently watched from a doorway as your grandfather died, right?" Neville nodded his head, and Hermione absentmindedly followed, "Well, Harry literally stood right next to Cedric when he was killed, Luna was in the kitchen with her mum when she died, Lee held his gran's hand when she died, and well… I don't exactly know Draco or Blaise's stories, but I'm sure they were close up to them as well."

"That makes sense," Seamus shuddered, hating the idea of anyone witnessing a death so closely that they could hear death when it stood at least fifty feet away from them.

Shaking away all his sudden chills, Harry tried to open the next door. When nothing happened he tried to open it with a spell, and he even started to pull out the knife that Sirius gave him that could open any lock… until Hermione amusedly reminded him that Tonya mentioned a locked door that no one knew what hid inside of it. According to Tonya it sort of became Ron's life mission to open that door in the future, and by the way that Ron now stared at the glowing pink X on it, Hermione could see that it was in this moment when Ron decided he would find a way to open it. He stared at it with such a longing gaze that everyone pitied him, and made their own silent vows to help him get inside that room – so long as it wouldn't lead to anyone's death.

"This is it!" Harry nearly shrieked with glee when the next door opened to reveal bright, beautiful, dancing, diamond-sparkling light.

Everyone fell silent, and Blaise immediately placed an invisible charm on himself while Lee quickly did the same. Draco quickly pulled the hood over his face while he stepped back with Angelina and Seamus. They could no longer risk talking because they knew that the Death Eaters were waiting inside that room for Harry to arrive. They didn't want to take the chance that the Death Eaters were invisible and by the door. Hermione quickly marked the door with a flaming green X, and shut it behind their large group before any invisible and lingering Death Eaters had the chance to notice the three extra bodies hiding out in the large circular room.

"This is it, then," Angelina muttered, watching as the doors started to spin around all of them once more, "Now we wait until the Order arrives."

"Go invisible already, Draco," Seamus warned him, watching the door with red X as if the Order would enter it at any minute with Tonya right behind them.

Nodding his head, Draco looked at the two of them, "Why don't the two of you sit down while we wait, and that way I'll be able to sit right next to you guys so you know where I'm at."

They waited and they waited and they waited. Draco could feel Angelina fidgeting next to him, and he could hear Seamus muttering all the horrible ways that he would bring Blaise back to life only to kill him again if he got himself killed. They continued to wait some more. The Order should have been here already… Harry told Draco that his father was going to send Kreacher back to the Order once they left. The Order was only going to give the Death Eaters a five minute headstart. Why had no one arrived yet? They continued to wait longer, each of them silently debating with themselves if they should run in already or give the Order and their group of friends some more time. Were they okay in there? Draco's stomach started to knot. What if Kreacher betrayed all of them, and the Order was now dead? What if his father betrayed them, and his friends were all now dead?

"Draco, what are you doing?" Angelina hissed at him when she felt him start to stand.

"It's taking too-"

Draco stopped talking when an explosion sound could be heard from the door with the gleaming green X burning brightly on it. Seamus and Angelina both jumped up as well, their wands gripped tightly in their hands and prepared to fight. Neither of them had the chance to move though because at that exact moment the door burning with the red X suddenly flew open, and in flowed some of the members of the Order. Draco saw Kingsely, Sirius, Tonks, Mad Eye, Fleur, and the Weasley twins, but he didn't see Tonya or anyone else who was supposed to be with them.

"Where are the others?" Mad Eye growled, only seeing the two visible people in the room. His eye started to zoom in on the invisible Draco who looked ready for battle.

"Inside the door with the green X," Angelina quickly explained, "We just heard an explosion."

Sirius started to run towards it, "Stay away from the door with the grey X," Seamus warned everyone, "That's the one with the veil in it!"

"Did Blaise and Lee go in with them?" George asked his girlfriend, quickly running over to her to make sure she was okay.

Angelina nodded her head, "To make sure the Death Eaters didn't sneak any attacks on them, and to keep an invisible eye on them in case they split up."

"Where's Tonya and the others?" Draco asked, causing everyone aside from Mad Eye, Angelina, and Seamus to jump in shock.

Turning to where the invisible boy was, Tonks looked startled, "Was it really wise to bring Draco here?"

"Why else do you think I trained for this?" Draco growled at her. "Where is Tonya?"

"Upstairs in the Atrium," Kingsley assured him, "We all agreed that it was safer for her to be up there. The others are with her, waiting to ambush any of the Death Eaters that are summoned here. She's safely hidden out of sight with Minerva and Charlie guarding her.

"I 'ear them," Fleur suddenly announced, turning away from where she had her ear pressed to the door leading to the prophecies, "Zey are coming now!"

"You know what to do!" Mad Eye barked out to everyone, quickly placing himself under a disillusion spell, not wanting any of the Death Eaters to know he was there.

Everyone else quickly followed Mad Eye's steps so that when Hermione ran into the large circular room with Neville, Harry, and Luna right behind her the room looked empty to all of them. Loudly cursing when he saw that it was only four of them, Harry shouted out for Blaise and Lee, slightly relieved to see they weren't with them – hopefully they followed after Ron and Ginny… Hermione quickly locked the door as she shut it behind them, and turned to the largely empty room then shouted out that the prophecy had been grabbed and they still had it. She then started to quickly alert the room that the Death Eaters were just as Tonya warned them it would be: Lucius, Bellatrix, the Lestrange brothers, Antonin Dolohov, Avery, McNair, Crabbe, Nott, Rookwood, Jugson, and Mulciber.

"Quiet!" Harry hissed out at Hermione.

Soon they were all able to hear Lucius shout, "Leave Nott, _leave him, I say_! The Dark Lord will not care for Nott's injuries as much as losing the prophecy – Jugson come back here, we need to organize!"

"Right…" Luna said, rubbing her bleeding forehead, "The others probably ended up in that brain room. Angelina, you and George go in there to check on them."

"I'm going with them," Fred quickly announced, causing Neville to jump in shock when he realized Fred was standing right behind him. "Tonya said that every bad thing that happened to George and I happened when we were separated; I'm not taking that chance."

"It's the door with the blue X on it," Hermione informed them. "Where are the others?"

"In the Atrium," Sirius announced, standing right next to her. "Where are we going now?"

"I'd prefer to stay in here," Hermione firmly stated, "We can outnumber them in here and not worry about anyone getting hurt by one of the other rooms."

"But it risks the chance of all of us getting hurt by rebounded spells," Tonks pointed out.

"They aren't in there," Angelina's frantic voice reached all of them. "We just peeked inside, and they aren't in there."

"Damn!" Hermione hissed, drawing chuckles from Kingsely, Mad Eye, Sirius, and Bill. "Where did they go, then?"

Lucius ran through the aisles of the prophecies frantically searching for the kids; his mask was knocked off when Ginny Weasley flew a spell at him. To the other Death Eaters it looked as if Ginny had attacked him with a spell to hurt him, but they had planned it as a way to alert the Order members of who he was so they wouldn't accidentally hurt him. It was the least suspicious way of removing his mask without the others knowing what he was up to. So far Nott was unconscious on the floor, and as far as he was concerned none of the others had been injured yet. He could hear Bellatrix's manic cackle and fear rushed through him. Had she caught someone?

"Well, well, well…" Ginny found herself backed up against a shelf of prophecies as Bellatrix Lestrange closed in on her. The cracked lips were pulled back into a frightening snarl while crooked yellow teeth flashed her. "It seems I've got the itty baby all to myself. Want to play, dearie?"

Ginny was beyond frightened, but she knew that she couldn't show fear. Bellatrix was like a hungry shark when it could sense blood – fear only gave her strength. Besides, Ginny had an advantage that Bellatrix didn't know about – she could do nonverbal spells, and she knew more than the standard Hogwarts spells. "Sure," Ginny smirked, trying to catch Bellatrix off guard, "Let's play Hide N' Seek. I'll hide and you seek. Count to one hundred, but no peeking."

"Hmm…" Bellatrix seemed to consider her for a few seconds, her black eyes gleaming with a thirst for blood. "I like tag better. And what do you know, you've been caught. Now enough with the chit chat, let's hear you scream – _Crucio_!"

Although Ginny had been expecting it, the spell seemed to catch her slightly off guard and her knees buckled as she dropped to the ground. Her insides were being torn apart while someone poked at her with hot spears, but she didn't scream. She refused to make a single sound.

"I like it when you struggle," Bellatrix started to cackle with an excited glee in her face as she watched Ginny trying to stand back up. Ginny's wand was on the ground, and Bellatrix looked at her as one would look at a defenseless puppy. "It makes the game more fun."

"I like it when you look like Rudolph!" Ginny sneered, looking directly into those emotionless black eyes. Bellatrix looked confused, and Ginny muttered, "_Anteoculatia_!"

Bellatrix started to scream out in shock as her hair started to form itself into antlers. Her eyes widened in surprise as she watched Ginny drop herself to the ground, pick up her wand, and then fly a spell at her that she dodged only just in time. Bellatrix's wide eyes soon narrowed into little slits though, and she snarled, "Well, it seems like the itty baby is ready to play like an adult. If that's how you want it, blood traitor – _Avada Ke-_"

"NO!" a shout came from somewhere on the side of Bellatrix, but she couldn't see who shouted or where it came from.

"Aahhh!" Bellatrix screamed as she was flown against the shelf of prophecies, breaking hundreds of them as they fell all around her. She was seething, "Who taught you annoying brats how to do wandless and nonverbal spells?"

"Aww," Ginny cooed, calling to Bellatrix's wand while Blaise started to tie her up, "Is somebody jealous?"

Ron found himself in a room filled with clocks and all sorts of numbers on the walls. There was a shelf filled with time-turners, and three Death Eaters chasing him. He lost all the others and only prayed that they managed to get to the Order on time. He vaguely remembered Tonya warning them about this room. This was the room that Hermione, Harry, and Neville originally got caught in with only Death Eaters. It was also dangerous enough to give him the head of a baby while the rest of his body remained in its original state.

Hiding under one of the desks, Ron quickly regretted his hiding spot when he heard one of the Death Eaters say, "Check under the desks."

Watching as one of the Death Eaters started to bend on the opposite end of the room, Ron thanked Merlin that he could now perform nonverbal spells. Stupefying the Death Eater from across a room, without any dramatic red beams, made it easier for Ron to attack one of the others as well when the Death Eater shot a killing curse at one of the desks that the fallen Death Eater had just checked under.

"Where are you?" the last remaining Death Eater growled, standing in the middle of the room with his wand in front of him. His beady eyes scanned the room, prepared to kill anyone that suddenly moved.

Lucius heard the crashing sounds and turned around. He had only four of his Death Eaters still following him. Quickly debating with himself about what to do he shouted for them to look for the door that the group had entered in the first place, knowing that they would find themselves ambushed by members of the Order. Once they started running, Lucius followed the crashing sounds. He could hear a strangled scream, and started to run faster; praying that none of the kids were injured.

"_Impedimenta_!"

The Death Eater that had been dueling Ron was knocked backward off his feet. He smashed into a bookcase and was toppled by a number of books. Ron was bleeding from his forehead and his leg looked as if someone had been sawing at it. "Lucius!" the Death Eater shouted, trying to stand back up.

"_Petrificus Totalus_!" shouted Ron.

Watching as the Death Eater suddenly fell to the floor like a statue, Lucius made his way to the bleeding boy, "Are you alright?" he asked. When Ron nodded his head but staggered backward, Lucius quickly made his way to him, "Where are the others?" he asked while supporting Ron.

Ron shook his head, "I-I don't know. We got separated."

Looking around the room, Lucius saw the other two that Ron stupefied starting to stir, "We've got to get you out of here," he told the woozy boy, "Come on."

"Wait," Ron looked back at the slowly stirring Death Eaters as well, "They'll come to."

Lucius nodded his head, "And then they'll kill us. I've led the Lestrange brothers, Mulciber, and Rookwood to the others already, but the others are still somewhere around here. I've got to get you out of here."

"No," Ron shook his head, "We need to kill them," feeling Lucius tense, Ron saw the apprehension in his face, "We're not children anymore; we know the truth of what needs to happen. We need to kill them, Mr. Malfoy, or they'll kill us."

Blaise removed his spell, no longer caring if any of the Death Eaters recognized him. Holding tightly onto Ginny's hand the two of them ran through the prophecy room. They had snapped Bellatrix's wand in two, and incinerated the pieces just in case the crazy bitch would somehow be able to use the broken parts. Neither of them found it in themselves to kill her, even though they knew she would most likely kill them, but they did manage to cause her tongue to stick to the roof of her mouth while they charmed her eyelids to remain shut for forty-eight hours without any chance of being reversed. They also tied her up with ropes that could only be unbound by one of their wands, and they caused her to go deaf so that she couldn't hear anyone if they were to run pass her. They knew she could perform nonverbal spells so they hoped that by stopping her from being able to hear or see anyone she couldn't hex, curse, or kill anyone that happened to find her. They also took pleasure on turning her skin red and gold just for the irony of it. Blaise didn't even argue to make her green and silver because it was stupid – Bellatrix was a Slytherin; of course she would have preferred to be green and silver. The best part of it was that they managed to turn her into the perfect Gryffindor mascot before they blinded her. That also meant that Blaise currently had a huge lump on his head from where Bellatrix managed to hit him with a shelf.

"There you are!" Lee ran up to the duo, panting and bleeding, with a long scar on the side of his face. "Avery ran into me while I was looking for you guys, literally, he managed to remove my disillusion spell."

Grabbing onto Lee's hand, Ginny started to pull him with her and Blaise, "We've lost the others. I saw Ron run into a room by himself. When I saw that Blaise was with me I hoped that you were with him at least."

Lee shook his head and the three all started to run even faster, trying to get to Ron as quickly as they could, "I was chasing after him when I ran into Avery. I managed to subdue him. There's no way he'll wake up again."

"Did you kill him?" Ginny gasped.

Lee had a dark look in his eyes, "Let's just say that after a certain number of hexes and curses hit you repeatedly in the chest you don't do so well."

"You did what you had to," Blaise noted, "What happened to your face?"

Lee lifted his free hand to run his fingers along the scar that started from an inch above his left eye and seemed to run down to his chin, "He hit me with a slicing hex. It was one I've never heard of before. I think I look cool though."

"Very sexy," Ginny chuckled, glad that Lee was able to find some humor in what looked like would be permanent.

"Oi!"

"Ron!" Ginny shouted.

Seeing that it was Blaise that he ran into, literally, Ron didn't have time to help Blaise stand back up because his baby sister was soon in his arms, "Good," he said, taking the time to embrace his sister back, "I was worried that you were alone."

"Blaise followed me," Ginny shook her head, not wanting to let go of her brother.

Lee stepped up, "Ron, I'm sorry, I was chasing after you but then Avery and I bumped into each other and he knew I was there. I only just escaped him, and ran into Ginny and Blaise right now."

"It's alright, Lee," taking a look at Lee's face, Ron couldn't help but to grimace. They knew this would happen. They knew that by changing the outcome of the truth people would get hurt that weren't meant to. "You alright?"

Lee nodded his head, "Avery's dead."

"So's Dolohov, Crabbe, and Jugson."

Ginny gasped at the dark tone in her brother's voice, "Ron, did you… did you…?"

"No," Lucius cleared his throat, drawing their attention to him only now. "Your brother managed to stupefy Dolohov and Jugson, and by the time I found him he had been dueling with Crabbe."

"I was losing," Ron admitted, "Mr. Malfoy got to me just in time. I don't know how much longer I could have handled it. He blasted him away from me in time for me petrify him."

"I was the one who killed them," Lucius assured them, "So as to keep them from reviving and killing anyone else."

Ginny, Blaise, and Lee could all see the twitch in Ron's face when Lucius spoke, and they all shuddered for their brother and friend. It was obvious that it had been Ron's idea to kill the three Death Eaters, and they knew that Lucius was lying. The look in Ron's face was enough to proof that he uttered the killing curse at least once. "Thank you!" Ginny shocked all of them by suddenly jumping into the arms of the notorious Death Eater who had traveled back from the future. "Thank you for saving my brother," she muttered, feeling him slowly wrap his arms around her in turn. Burying her head into his shoulders, Ginny whispered, "In more way than one."

Realizing that the girl was talking about trying to save Ron's innocence by killing the Death Eaters, Lucius nodded his head, "You're welcome, Miss. Weasley. Now we should really get moving. We need to find the others."

"Avery's dead," Lee informed Lucius as Ginny pulled away from him so she could hold onto her brother once more.

When Blaise started snickering, and Ginny sort of giggled, Lucius turned to them in confusion, "Have you two faced anyone as well?"

"Well…" Ginny smirked, "Blaise saved me from Bellatrix, and we sort of…"

Tonya stayed hidden behind the security desk like everyone told her to. Charlie was hidden with her, facing the opening part behind her so that he could see everyone who ran towards their way. McGonagall was guarding the front of the desk to make sure that no one could enter from the front way. Dumbledore remained invisible so that no one could see him, because they all knew that if Voldemort knew Dumbledore was there he would never show up. Molly and Arthur Weasley were visible to all who entered the Atrium, along with Remus and Bill.

One by one the Death Eaters were starting to pour in slowly, each one being caught off guard by the amount of people seeming to wait for them. Charlie made sure that Tonya stayed down so that she wouldn't have to see anything that was happening. She didn't mind though, she didn't want to see a wizarding battle, nor did she want to see people getting killed. Seeing Draco dead was enough to scar her for a lifetime. Instead, Tonya focused on her baby bump, and looking at the Horcruxes that she had lined up in front of her: the ring, the locket, the goblet, the diadem… there was a large crate filled with basilisk fangs next to it, and her hands were starting to sweat from the dragon-hide gloves that she had been forced to wear all day. No one had allowed her to take them off at all… not even to use the bathroom. She had been wearing the gloves from the minute she finished eating breakfast. She's even had to eat lunch and her large snack before leaving the manor, with the stupid gloves on her hand.

"_Colloshoo_!" Luna shouted at Mulciber, causing him to get caught off guard as he suddenly found his feet glued to the floor. The sudden impact of it caused him to fall face first onto the floor, giving Luna enough time to take his wand away from him.

Draco saw the intense way that Mulciber was staring at Luna, and shouted, "_Confundo_!" causing Mulciber to suddenly become to confounded to forget the nonverbal spell he had been trying to attack Luna with.

Draco's loud spell casting, however, had earned him the attention of his uncle Rodolphus. "_Crucio_!"

Lucius ran in front of the teens, his long black robes bellowing behind him, no longer caring if the Death Eaters found out about him betraying them. He'd done all that he had meant to – he killed off more Death Eaters than Voldemort seemed to even know he had following him, he had lured the Death Eaters into a trap filled with Order members and frighteningly well trained students, and he had helped to ensure the death of Voldemort – he would only focus on protecting the kids now. Because of Ron's intensive injuries to his leg (Crabbe had somehow tried to saw it off with a constant slicing hex) Ron was a bit slower than the rest of them so Blaise and Lee both held onto a side of him while Ginny took the rear. Lucius was proud of how well the kids all worked together, and if he was killed today he was just honored to have witnessed something so amazing.

"_Diffindo_!"

Dodging the spell just in time, Lucius turned around to see a snarling McNair standing in front of him. He sneered back, "_Duro_!"

McNair managed to dodge it just in time, "Helping the enemies, Malfoy? I didn't think you had it in you."

"Yes, well, I saw the future," Lucius smirked, hearing the teens behind him snickering at the inside joke, "And Voldemort isn't it. You know how much I aim to be on the winning side, McNair."

McNair's face darkened as his eyes narrowed. He raised his wand. "You dare speak the Dark Lord's name."

"Oh yes," Lucius smugly nodded his head, "I even dare to raise my wand at him."

Ginny recognized the tell-tale signs of casting a nonverbal spell, and she quickly beat McNair to it. Suddenly the Death Eater in front of them had turned to stone. His legs were frozen only mere inches apart from one another while his arms were raised in a dueling position and his face was set in a permanent evil look.

"Nice one, Gin," Lee chuckled.

Fleur heard Draco screaming out in pain and stopped in the middle of her duel with Rabastan Lestrange. Snarling when she saw the blonde boy she had vowed to protect kneeling on the ground in front of his uncle, Fleur cast a silent spell in Rodolphus's direction, catching him off guard but allowing Rabastan to hit her with a slicing spell. Grunting in pain at the slice on her throat, Fleur growled at her fighting partner. When Tonks ran over to help her she quickly shook her head.

"'E iz mine!" Fleur growled, slashing her wand through the air.

Mad Eye nodded his head in approval while Hermione's eyes were widened with fear when Rabastan suddenly flew against the ceiling of the large circular room they were still in. "_Avada-_"

"Oh no, you don't," Fleur's eyes were narrowed into tiny little slits, slightly frightening everyone in the room who knew about her minimal Veela blood. "_Langlock_! _Petrificus Totalus_! _Orbis_!"

"Nice one, girly!" Mad Eye barked out as Rabastan's tongue was glued to the roof of his mouth, he was petrified, and then sucked into the ground. They all knew that he would be landing on the floor beneath them, but the room right beneath them was also a small little safe that only Aurors could get into. And because of the petrifying spell used on him, Rabastan would be a sitting duck until they got to him.

"_Avada-_"

"_AVADA KEDAVRA_!" everyone turned around in shock as Rookwood fell to the ground, dead. Standing in the doorway was a vicious looking Lucius Malfoy, and behind him stood four teens who definitely looked like they had been fighting in a war.

Angelina's jaw was dropped in shocked when she looked down and saw the dead Death Eater lying right behind her. "What…?"

"I really do hate it when people attack from behind," Lucius muttered. "Are you alright, Miss. Johnson?"

Slowly nodding her head, Angelina was still in shock at the idea of nearly being killed. If Lucius Malfoy hadn't arrived when he did, she would be dead right now. "T-Thank you, Mr. Malfoy."

Looking around the room, Lucius saw the exasperated state of his son, "Are you alright, Draco?"

Draco nodded his head, but Fleur shook hers, "'E 'as been cursed – 'ze Cruciatus Curse."

Lucius's eyes narrowed when he noticed his brother-in-law lying on the floor in front of his son, "By Rodolphus, I presume?"

Draco slowly nodded his head, "Fleur did something to him."

Seeing everyone staring at her expectantly, Fleur shrugged her shoulders and checked her newly ruined nails, "Eet eez a Veela secret."

Smirking his thanks to Fleur, Lucius looked around at everyone, "Is this all?"

"RON!" Fred shouted, only now noticing the state his brother was in.

Snapping her head up, Hermione also saw Ron. She quickly ran over to him, and took Blaise's place so Blaise could check to make sure that Seamus was alright. "What happened?"

Charlie had called his mum over so that she could protect Tonya so he could fight. He didn't want to leave Tonya alone, but he wanted to fight too, so he felt that his mum was the best choice to pull out of the imminent battle so he wouldn't have to worry about either of them. Merlin knew how mental he was going just worrying about Ginny, Ron, the twins, Harry, and Hermione. Molly quickly agreed, already taking Charlie's place next to Tonya so that her son could run into the battle with his dad, brother, and Remus.

"Just exactly how many Death Eaters are there?" asked an astounded Tonya. When Lucius told them he would make sure to lure all of the other Death Eaters to the Ministry, she hadn't expected to see this many Death Eaters.

Molly pressed her lips together tightly, "A lot, dear, there are just too many of them out there."

Nodding her head in response, Tonya bit her bottom lip and looked past Molly, "They're here! They're coming now!"

Draco was no longer invisible, but he made sure to keep his hood over his face so that Tonya wouldn't be able to recognize him. Lucius ran in the front of the group with Mad Eye and Kingsley, while Seamus and Blaise both helped Ron walk. Neville, the twins, and Lee all flanked the back of the group just in case any Death Eaters managed to get pass them. Nott was still unconscious on the floor in the prophecy room.

The battle went into a full blown thing once everybody else arrived. More Death Eaters appeared in until there was a person for everyone to duel. Molly had been forced to place protective spells around Tonya just so she, too, could also duel. Despite all her inner-voiced warnings Tonya looked up to see what was happening. Ginny was on the ground with a woman Death Eater standing over her. Ron looked as if he were going to pass out any minute. Lee and Blaise found themselves back to back and surrounded by five Death Eaters who seemed to want to take Blaise down for betraying them. Lucius and Kingsely were both dueling with a group of Death Eaters who were aiming to kill. There were all sorts of colors flying around the area, and Tonya managed to duck her head just in time to avoid being hit by a green beam that she knew would have killed her on instant impact.

"_He's here_!"

Tonya shuddered when she heard Harry shout at all of them. She had never had to worry about Voldemort in her time because he was already dead, and there was no chance of him coming back to life. There was a loud scream of anguish and Tonya dared another quick peek above the desk to see what was happening now. She flew her hands to her mouth to keep from vomiting when she saw him – he was pale and almost slimy looking, with red slits for eyes and sharp teeth. She always used to giggle at the muggle saying that some owners look like their pets, but now she truly believed it… Voldemort and his snake could pass as twins, if one weren't so pale and the other so green. He was horrifying to look at, almost deadly. His eyes landed on her, and Tonya's eyes widened in fear.

"Tom!" Dumbledore shouted, quickly revealing himself to divert Voldemort's attention away from Tonya.

"Now, Tonya," McGonagall hissed at her from where she was continuing to duel with a Death Eater, "Do it now!"

Nodding her head to show that she understood, Tonya crouched back behind the desk she was meant to be hidden behind. Reaching into the large box filled with basilisk fangs she pulled one of them out. The long curved item reminded her of an ivory elephant tusk that she had seen in the documentaries her old History teacher used to make her watch. If only Mrs. Schaffer could see her now… taking in a deep breath she stared down at the ring in front of her. Harry, Hermione, and Ron had all told her how the Horcruxes seemed to taunt them right before they destroyed it, and she decided to act before the ring would have a chance to do anything to her.

Voldemort released a scream of pain as the ring started to release a green cloud of smoke. His head snapped toward the desk where he had seen Tonya, and he raised his wand, "What is this, Dumbledore?" he cried out.

Harry was the one who stepped up though, knowing that it would only insult Voldemort even further if Dumbledore didn't pay him any attention, "That's right, Tom," Harry smirked, playing with the wand in his hand. He knew that he wouldn't get lucky with a simple disarming spell this time – Voldemort owned his wand, not him. If Voldemort shot the killing curse at him after killing him the first time, Harry needed to dodge it or he would be killed. "We learned all about your little Horcruxes, and we've got them all. And we're destroying them all. Soon enough you'll be just mortal as the rest of us."

Another scream of pain tore through Voldemort's mouth, causing him to fly a misaimed killing curse towards the desk. Green smoke started to rise once more, this time his face showed in it. Voldemort's wand hand began to shake. "You fool, Potter. You dare to think you could defeat me – you and your foolish little friends? Come now, and join Lord Voldemort, we need not spread anymore pure blood."

"I think we like being on the winning side, thank you very much," Harry snickered. This time however, he too, started to crumple forward as he felt Tonya stab the basilisk fang into the goblet. He could feel it in his side like a stitch starting to tear in one of his old shirts.

Harry wasn't prepared for everything that happened next. It all happened so quickly that everything was a blur to him. Tonya released an anguished cry as she killed the final Horcrux and threw a basilisk fang at Neville who seemed to run towards Nagini to stab her. No one was expecting it to happen, not even Voldemort, and by the time Voldemort had noticed Neville it was only because the panting boy was standing above the dead snake, holding the dripping basilisk fang in one hand while staring at Voldemort with such a deep hatred in his eyes that Harry wondered if Neville would be the one to kill Voldemort this time around.

"_AVADA KEDAVRA_!" Harry saw Voldemort point his wand at Neville too late. The Death Eaters and Order members were no longer dueling, and a panting and crying Tonya was now standing at full height to watch it. Neville had no time to dodge the curse aiming right for him. Harry started to run.

_His head was aching, and he wanted to just lay down so he could sleep. He was so tired and it felt as if it had been ages since he's last had a proper sleep. Looking down he could see that his red robes were gone and he was dressed in long blue jeans and a comfortable t-shirt that he owned when he was eleven – it seemed to fit him perferfectly now. Turning his hands around he could see that there were no scars on it; it hadn't been stained red with the blood of his friends and enemies, and there was no proof that he had once suffered at the sadistic mind of a Ministry employee. The room was so bright that he just wanted it to turn off already._

_ "No, you don't."_

_ Jumping in shock, he turned around and gasped at his sight. "You? But Tonya said that I would meet with Dumbledore when I die."_

_ "Yes, but seeing as how Dumbledore's _alive_ it's quite impossible isn't it? That was brave of you, Harry, jumping in front of Neville the way that you did. Voldemort wasn't expecting that of you."_

_ Harry stared at the person in front of him in shock and confusion. Were they really this close in the future for Draco Malfoy to be the one who greeted him in death? Draco wasn't even covered in bloody gashes in the same sense that he had been when both Tonya and Draco had seen him. He looked just like the Draco from the pictures that Tonya had shown to all of them – he was clean, dressed comfortably in muggle clothing, and he had the expression of someone who was quite joyful. This was nothing like the hardened fighter that Harry had just left behind, or the cruel frightened little boy that Harry had once known. Harry found himself face to face with the Draco Malfoy that he was creating a better future for._

_ "What do you mean I don't?"_

_ Draco chuckled and nodded his head towards the source of the bright light, "If that light turns off then so do you, Harry. It's that light that's keeping you here."_

_ "Oh… so if I walk towards the light I'll be leaving everybody behind? I won't wake up this time?"_

_ Draco nodded his head, "Precisely. The choice is up to you entirely. I'm only here to greet you and to let you know that you're alright now. I mean when you go back you'll be confronted with a very pissed off Dark Lord, but he'll be a very pissed off _mortal_ Dark Lord."_

_ "It all seemed so easy," Harry admitted. "Tonya was able to destroy the Horcruxes in only a minute, and then Neville killed Nagini in only a second, and now I'm dead. Who's to say that Voldemort won't be killed by the time I go back? Everything's changed now, Draco, I don't have to be the savior anymore."_

_ "And are you alright with that, Harry, are you okay with no longer being the Chosen One?"_

_ "I never wanted the title or the duty it came attached with. Let Ron kill Voldemort this time around."_

_ Draco chuckled and rolled his eyes, "Great, a world filled with more bragging rights of the Weasel King…"_

_ "What's it like?" Harry asked Draco. "Being dead, what's it like?"_

_ Draco's joyous mood suddenly dropped, and Harry felt guilty for asking such a personal question. "One would say it's like falling asleep, but I wouldn't know. I haven't slept in so long, Harry. I'm constantly bouncing between keeping an eye on Tonya and making sure she's alright, then checking up on myself to make sure he's not doing anything foolish, and then I'm checking in on the future you just to make sure you're staying sane. I was killed because of vengeance, and it was dark magic that kept me trapped in this plane. I would have liked to move on, but I haven't been able to. It was painful, and I wouldn't wish that death on anyone… not even my aunt Bella."_

_ "Who was it?" Harry asked curiously, "Who killed you?"_

_ Draco frowned, and Harry saw a hint of remorse in the dark silver eyes. "A friend," he whispered, "I was killed by a friend. But I forgive him, Harry, and I want you to remember that. And I want you to share that with everyone. If it were Tonya I probably would have done the same thing he did. He killed me for vengeance on something that I had no control of. You guys caught him, as I knew you would, and then you confronted him. All of you. He killed himself though, but I want you to forget. I want you to forget the bad and only remember the good."_

_ "You won't tell me who he was?"_

_ Draco shook his head, "He is a good friend, Harry, and that is all that matters. Things have changed this time around and he won't have such a hatred in his heart anymore. He'll no longer feel the thirst to kill so it won't matter if you know his name or not because it simply will no longer exist."_

_ Harry nodded his head in a slow agreement, "And Voldemort? He'll be gone for good now?"_

_ "Yes, all of the Horcruxes have been destroyed. All that needs to be done now is to kill Voldemort."_

_ "And the remaining Death Eaters?"_

_ "Leave them to the Aurors to deal with. It is their job after all."_

_ "Should I return?"_

_ "Do you not want to?"_

_ "I-I don't know," Harry admitted in a soft voice. "I'd like to return, but I'd also like to sleep."_

_ "A lot of people will miss you," Draco reminded him, "And Tonya would blame herself. She knew that some people would die that weren't meant to if she changed the past, but she didn't think that you would be one of them. Ginny would be lost, and all of your friends wouldn't know what to do. You could always sleep when you wake up."_

_ Harry thought about it and stared longingly at the train behind Draco. He knew he was at Kings Cross station, and he knew that if he boarded that train he would soon join his parents. He would be with his parents, but none of his friends. Draco would be alive in only a matter of minutes, Sirius wasn't killed, and Remus wouldn't die any time soon. He had no reason to want to board that train, but that seemed to be all he wanted to do. "Do you think this was maybe meant to happen?"_

_ "That everything went so easily for you guys today because you weren't meant to wake up this time around?"_

_ Harry nodded his head. "I only returned the last time because I couldn't abandon them in the middle of a war. I couldn't leave them without saying goodbye. I couldn't leave them alone with the Death Eaters and with Voldemort. I know they're alright now though. I can feel it… they'll be safe without me…"_

Everyone was frozen and backed against the walls now, even Tonya had found shelter against the wall when Voldemort blew up her desk shelter. Harry's body laid frozen in the middle of the Atrium, and sparks made up of hundreds of colors were flying everywhere: red, yellow, green, blue, white, black, silver, gold, pink, yellow, purple, violet… Voldemort and Dumbledore were in a duel to the death; no one daring to get involved with either of them. Tonya saw Ginny occasionally glancing at the dead boy on the ground, and she felt her own heart wrench in fear. Something was wrong. It shouldn't be taking this long for Harry to wake up. Why wasn't Harry waking up?

"_Crucio_!"

Tonya dropped to the ground, writhing in pain. One of Voldemort's spells went astray and hit Tonya. Holding tightly onto her stomach to prevent her unborn son from being sliced open by the fire-laced knives digging through her body, Tonya heard people screaming her name all around her. Her eyes were shut though, refusing to open. She heard McGonagall release a battle cry just as a loud thudding sound fell to the floor. Dumbledore had fallen! He had been distracted by the random attack on Tonya, and Voldemort caught him in his moment of hesitation. Tonya could vaguely hear the deep baritone of Kingsley fighting against Voldemort now. McGonagall, Mad Eye, Sirius, and Bill were all fighting against him as well. For a mortal man, Voldemort still needed five opponents to fight against him and the idea had Tonya cringing.

"Tonya!"

Flying her eyes open when she heard his voice, Tonya's eyes landed on the soft silver stare of the very boy she had come here to protect. "Draco?" she whispered, "What are you doing here?"

"Don't be mad," it was Hermione who had ran to Draco's side to help Tonya stand back up, "He's sort of been with us ever since Fred and George left Hogwarts."

When Tonya's jaw dropped, Draco nervously scratched at the back of his head, "Surprise!"

_ "Are you sure?" Draco asked Harry._

Rubbing her forehead, Tonya shook her head. She couldn't believe it. All this time Draco had known the truth about everything and she was the only one who didn't know anything about it. Allowing Draco and Hermione to help her stand back up, Tonya noticed how Draco's hands stayed on her stomach, as if willing their unborn child to remain alright, and she grew worried. She couldn't feel him anymore; she couldn't feel their son. Her face was dripping with cold sweat, her body was in so much pain, and her knees were wobbling, but none of that mattered to her because she couldn't feel the baby.

Hermione screamed when the green light came directly towards them. McGonagall had managed to kill Voldemort, but not before he shot his final killing curse at the trio huddled in the corner. "Tonya!" Draco shouted her name, and pushed her out of the way.

"DRACO!" Hermione held Tonya back as she tried to stop Draco.

A golden light appeared out of nowhere, and Draco reached his arms out to push Tonya toward it. Tonya struggled, but there was a great pull coming from the door. It was as if Harry them knew that Tonya no longer wanted to return to her right time so they had placed some sort of spell on it to pull her through it against her will. Tonya struggled but it was useless, she was flying through the air, being tugged back into the future. There were tears in her eyes as she watched Draco smiling at her with tears in his own eyes, "I still love you!" he managed to say right before the beam connected to him.

"NO, DRACO!" Tonya watched as Draco fell gracefully to the ground.

_ "Yes!" Harry nodded his head at a slightly stunned Draco, "I'm sure."_

**I'm not that good at writing battle scenes, so I hope that was okay… also… major cliffhanger… I have no words to say, other than 'I'm sorry!' I had always planned for Harry to meet Draco instead of Dumbledore, and that was the scene I have been waiting over a year to write. I have also sadistically planned out that cliffhanger ending… So… I'll see you guys on Christmas day sometime?**

**I have boxes of tissues for anyone who needs it… I tried to make it funny in the beginning of the chapter, and sort of in the middle of it… What did you guys think of everything?**


	30. A New Future

**Mele Kalikimaka! Merry Christmas! Happy Kwanza! Happy Hanukkah! I hope I spelled it right? Happy whatever today is to all of you! My gift to you guys is a wonderful chapter(: Come on – did you guys really think I'd kill Draco off again? I've had too many tears in 2012, I needed something good to happen for once. So… spoiler alert – Draco's alive! Dumbledore's not, though… sorry… he was killed… So it's 5 in the morning over here, I've still yet to sleep, and I've got to be up at 7 to get ready to go to my aunty's house… So I hope you guys enjoy this chapter(:**

**Also, I want it to be known that there will be an OC in this chapter. Her name is 'Arianna Delacour'! She's an OC that **_**DJDvampgirlp227 **_**had offered up for me to use in this occasion. I won't name the occasion because you'll find out later in this chapter! – I hope that you still wanted me to use this character. It's been about 17 chapters since you offered her to me, and I meant to message you to see if you still wanted to use her but I didn't remember about it until the last minute, and I really wanted to get this chapter up by today. If you don't want me using her, just let me know and I'll gladly take her out and change some things around(: - if you are still cool with it though, thank you for your OC, and I hope you like her, since all you gave me was her name and origin!(: **

A New Future

_Smelling like coffee and burnt food grease, Tonya was muttering underneath her breath about damn truckers with no manners, stupid jocks who had nothing better to do than grab asses, and how the rain was against her, when she heard a weird crackling sound. It sounded almost like somebody was cracking a thousand knuckles at the same time while playing with electricity. It reminded her a little bit of that one time that her friend's brother plugged in a plug that was too big for the socket then it made a *pop* sound and there was a small burst of light with a *crack* before everything in the house went off. Looking around to see if the noise came from behind her, Tonya shook her head then continued walking, deciding that she had worked too long and she was finally cracking._

_ Turning the corner, she released a tiny frightened scream. "Hullo," came a sheepish British voice. Clutching her hand to her heart, Tonya tried to catch her breath. "Sorry, I didn't meant to frighten you," the tall blonde boy told her, "It's just that, well, I'm sort of lost, you see."_

_ Squinting her eyes to get a better sight of the boy in front of her, Tonya could see that he seemed to be the same age as her. Long pale blonde strands clung to his face, falling over dark silver eyes. He was dressed in long black jeans, and a long black shirt, that seemed to cling to his skin as well from all the rain. It seemed as if she should know him from somewhere, as if she were meant to be meeting him right here and right now, but she couldn't put a name on it…_

_ "I'm looking for the Stockton Flats," he told her, "I was told they were somewhere around here, but the rain came down heavily and I lost the paper with the directions scribbled on it."_

_ Tonya frowned, "You're about a minute away," she told him, confused as to why this British boy would be looking for her apartment building. "Are you looking for someone in particular?"_

_ "Oh, no," he chuckled, "I've just moved in."_

_ "You just moved in?" the recognition seemed to click into place, because her eyes suddenly lit up and the frown turned into a welcoming smile. She noticed the way his breath hitched, but she ignored it; not noticing the way his eyes seemed to darken as she pushed her wet hair out of her face, "Oh, you're Draco Malfoy, then? You've got the apartment right across from mine! I'm Tonya Bruhn."_

…

_ "I'm sorry."_

_ With amusement in his eyes, Draco stared down at the girl kneeling in front of him. Her hair was a mess as if she had been pulling at it for hours, and she had the telltale signs from the lack of sleep in them, "Why are you sorry?"_

_ "I'm going to have to re-sew you up," Tonya sighed, placing her hands on the reopened wound on Draco's chest. She tried to ignore how nicely built his body was, and how his heart was beating at an uncontrollably rapid pace beneath her hand._

_ Reaching his hand down, Draco fought back a moan at the electricity sparking between them. He could see the flash in Tonya's eyes once his hand made contact with hers, but he had to remain calm for now. He couldn't scare her away before they even had a chance… "You have nothing to be sorry for," he assured her, "It's my own bloody fault for stretching the stitching."_

_ "That's right," Tonya chuckled, quickly pulling her hand away from Draco's so that he couldn't feel the effect he was having on her, "Why were you moving about when I told you, specifically, to stay in bed for a couple of days?"_

_ "I was hungry," when Tonya continued to stare at him though, Draco finally sighed. His cheeks were lightly tinged with pink, "I was making me a bowl of cereal and the milk carton started to fall. I reached out for it on instinct, and now I'm bleeding again."_

_ "Did anyone ever tell you that you're a clumsy person, Draco Malfoy?"_

_ Chuckling, Draco nodded his head. Tonya inhaled deeply when he started to run his hands through those beautiful blonde strands of his. "I may have been told that a couple of times."_

_ Shaking her head, Tonya stood up and made her way towards Draco's bathroom. It had been ten days since she first met her odd new neighbor, and it had been two days since she woke up from a horrible nightmare about giant marshmallows and the evil Chucky doll to hear a loud crashing sound coming from the apartment across from hers. Not thinking about the fact that she wore only a plain red t-shirt to bed that night, Tonya ran out of her apartment and into his. She was shocked to find that his door was unlocked, and even more shocked to find him passed out on his floor when she ran inside. It seemed as if he was trying to rearrange everything in his apartment, and while moving his entertainment set he somehow managed to drop his large T.V. onto himself. He managed to wake up as Tonya was sweeping all the broken glass off his apartment floor, and trying to clean everything up. By the time he woke up, Tonya had already managed to clean the deep gash on the right side of his lower stomach and even sewed it up as if he were a pair of her favorite jeans that had been ripped open._

_ Since the accident, Tonya had checked in on Draco every morning before leaving work – changing his bandages – and then she checked on him again after work. She even found herself comfortably cooking him breakfast before she left, and making sure that he had something prepared for himself for lunch. That was why she didn't believe the story about him getting hungry to make cereal… she made sure that there was a plate of pasta in the microwave ready for him when he got hungry. But she didn't force the truth out of him – she wasn't his girlfriend. She had no right to demand that he tell her everything he does. The thought sickened her. The idea of Draco Malfoy not being with her almost brought tears to her eyes. It just didn't seem right._

…

_ Sitting on her couch, Tonya had her feet up on the coffee table placed in front of her, and she held the bottle of pink nail polish in her hands. The strong scent of lemon nail-polish remover wafted through the tiny apartment, and she had a fan blowing directly onto her as she repainted her toenails. Today was her day off, and she was enjoying the laziness of it. Hearing a knock on her door, she shouted for whoever it was to just enter. Looking up she found herself staring at Draco. It had been nearly a month since he moved in, and after she took care of him when he had that accident the two of them had grown closer to one another, but it still didn't keep her from being shocked when he entered her apartment carrying two large boxes of pizza, a large bottle of soda, a couple of DVDs, and was dressed in a pair of black sweats and a loose fitting green colored hoodie._

_ "Draco?" she cocked an eyebrow._

_ Taking in the scene of the young girl painting her toenails on her coffee table, and dressed in a pair of short cottoned sleeping shorts, and a shirt that had been cut up to only cover her chest and fall off her shoulders, Draco started to laugh. "Am I interrupting anything?"_

_ "Only my vow to be lazy today," Tonya smugly replied. "What's up?"_

_ "I knew that you were off today, and I also feel like being lazy," Draco grinned, holding up the movies, "I've been wanting to watch these for a while now, but seeing as how I no longer have a telly I was sort of hoping we could watch them together?"_

_ "Telly?" Tonya chuckled. "I told you Draco, it's called a T.V. and this is called an apartment. Honestly, what's the point of living in America if you're not even going to try to understand our terms?"_

_ "You live in a flat, you shower in the loo, and you watch movies on the telly," there was a teasing tone in Draco's voice, but the look in his eyes had Tonya wondering if he's had this conversation with someone else before. Sure, they were always arguing about the correct way to say certain things, but he always had a lost gleam in his eyes as they did so – almost as if he was missing a friend that he couldn't have back._

_ "Do you want to watch the movies or not?"_

_ Chuckling, Draco rolled his eyes and placed the items onto the coffee table, gently hitting her feet until she moved them. "You can't make me abandon my heritage, by bribing me with movies. Besides, I brought pizza."_

_ "Mushroom and bacon?"_

_ Grabbing plates from the top cabinet in the kitchen, as if he had lived there all his life, Draco chuckled, "Is there any other kind?"_

_ "So what are we watching?"_

_ Draco had just reached the couch when Tonya carefully avoided moving her feet and reached across the table to grab at the movies. He saw the amused look on her face as she sorted through them, "Superman and Spiderman."_

…

_ Taking in a deep breath, Tonya stared at the door in front of her. It was midnight and she knew that sane people would be sleeping at this time, but instead she found herself standing in front of Draco's door. Dressed in long grey sweatpants, a giant white hoodie, and with a pair of fluffy socks on her feet, Tonya found herself shivering in front of Draco's door. She didn't even know why she was here. She was lying in her bed, trying to go to sleep, and then the lightning flashed through the sky and she jumped out of her bed quicker than one would consider normal. Usually when there was a thunderstorm she was used to wrapping herself up as tightly as she could in her comforter and then keeping her eyes shut while trying to count as high as she could until she finally fell asleep. The last time she had counted all the way to five thousand-three hundred-forty nine. She didn't know why she ran for Draco – it just sort of seemed to be an instinct reaction. Since meeting him he had a way of making her feel safe and secure; like he would never hurt or abandon her. The idea gave her butterflies but it also frightened her at the same time. How could she have such feelings for someone she had only known for six weeks?_

_ As if sensing someone was out there, Draco suddenly opened the door. He took in the way that Tonya was dressed, and the frightened look on her face, then he stepped aside, "Come inside."_

_ "Thanks," Tonya blushed, making her way into the apartment._

_ "How long have you been standing there?"_

_ "Not that long," she lied, hiding her blushing face behind her hair._

_ Understanding that she didn't want to admit the truth, Draco nodded his head toward the kitchen, "Would you like me to make you tea or hot chocolate?"_

_ "No thanks," Tonya muttered. "Look, I'm sorry; I don't know why I came here."_

_ The loud roaring sound of thunder crashed outside just as the flash of lightning peeked in through the windows, causing Tonya to shriek in fright and slightly jump. "It's alright," Draco told her, "I understand what it's like to be afraid of thunderstorms."_

_ "Are you afraid of it too?"_

_ Draco seemed to think about, shook his head, and then sighed, "I used to be. It almost seems like a different lifetime now, but I was more afraid of what storms brought than the actual storm itself."_

_ "How did you get over it?"_

_ The smile on Draco's face pained Tonya. It looked as if somebody broke her kind neighbor, and she prayed it wasn't true. Who would ever have the ability to break someone as kind as him? "I had a friend who never let me go through it alone," he suddenly said, his voice sounding a bit choked up, "She stayed with me whenever there was a storm, and she promised me that she'd never let it hurt me."_

_ "Oh," Tonya felt like crying. Of course his friend was a she – did they still see each other every now and then?_

_ "Come on," clearing his throat, Draco held his hand out, "You've got to work in the morning, and I'm expecting a call from my father in a couple of hours. We both need to sleep."_

_ Tonya accepted the cold hand, and she followed him down the hall. It wasn't until they reached their destination, however, that she suddenly paused. "This is your bedroom."_

_ "Yes it is," Draco chuckled, "We're going to sleep," seeing the incredulous look that Tonya gave him, he rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, I'm tired, you're tired, and we both need to wake up in a couple of hours. You obviously can't sleep alone with all that light and noise going on outside, and I'd really rather not sleep on the floor. It's not as comfortable as this bed is."_

_ Thinking deeply about it, Tonya remembered how much of a gentleman Draco was and she slowly nodded her head. "Fine. Thanks, Draco," it wasn't until they were both comfortably wrapped up in the thick warm comforter of his and she had scooted back against Draco, that Tonya realized something, "What the hell?"_

_ "What?" Draco asked, feeling his eyelids starting to drop._

_ "Why aren't you wearing a shirt?"_

_ "I don't sleep in shirts."_

_ "You're freezing."_

_ "That happens when it storms."_

_ "You're making me cold. Warm up your chest."_

_ Opening only one eye, Draco looked down at the girl who was trying her hardest to cuddle with him, while trying to avoid his bare chest. "How is that even possible?"_

_ "I don't know, figure something out."_

_ There was an amused tone in Draco's voice, one that happened when Tonya usually said certain things, "You're wearing a jumper and long pants with fuzzy socks on your feet, Tonya, I'm sure that my chest won't make you cold."_

_ Tonya glared at him, "You feel like a freezer," when Draco made no sound to reply back, or no movements to warm himself up, Tonya muttered something under her breath about useless males and turned her back to him. _

_ Trying her hardest to maintain a calm breathing process, Tonya shut her eyes in an annoyed manner and tried to make herself comfortable in Draco's arms. She felt him press his chest as tightly to her back as humanly possible without making their position awkward in any way, and Tonya heard Draco sigh softly as his chin subconsciously made itself comfortable against her hair._

_ That was the first night in eighteen years that Tonya had been able to sleep through a thunderstorm._

…

_ "I need to tell you something."_

_ Lifting her head up from the stove, Tonya saw Draco standing right in front of her. His hair was tussled – something she had actually went to church and thanked God for – showing that something was bothering him immensely. Looking down she could also see that he was dressed in long black slacks, and what appeared to be a long black robe. She cocked an eyebrow at her friend's choice in wardrobe, "Err… what the hell are you wearing?"_

_ "Robes," he muttered, "Seriously Tonya, I need to tell you something. Can you turn the stove off for now, so we can sit down?"_

_ Seeing the urgent desperation in Draco's eyes, Tonya quickly nodded her head. Turning off the stove she grabbed his hand and led him towards the couch. "Draco, what happened? Are you okay?"_

_ "I need to leave," he said darkly. "There's something that I need to do in London, and I don't know how long I'll be gone for. This hadn't happened before because I was on the run that time, but seeing as how everyone knows where I am I have to go. I tried to get out of it, but it's just not possible. They need me."_

_ Tonya frowned in confusion. On the run? What the hell was Draco talking about? Was he some sort of convict? "Draco, what are you talking about?"_

_ Turning his entire body so that he was now facing Tonya, Draco still had a dark look in his eyes, "I've been meaning to tell you the truth, Tonya, but I was waiting for the best time. I kept thinking I had more time, but now that I'm going to London I want to tell you the truth now. I'm going to tell you everything and then I want you to think about it until I return. When I come back, I want to know how you feel."_

_ "Err… sure?" Tonya was slightly nervous that Draco was going to confide in her that he broke into a bank… or that he killed somebody and the body was hidden underneath the Golden Gate Bridge – he did seem fond of that bridge._

_ Taking in a deep breath, Draco reached out so that he could pull Tonya's hands into his. "I'm a wizard, Tonya. My name is Draco Malfoy, and I'm a wizard!"_

…

_ Tonya was pacing back and forth in her apartment. It had been six weeks since Draco confided in her that he was a wizard. He told her that he grew up in the wizarding part of London, and that he grew up hating muggles – people without magic – and that his father had once followed some sort of evil dark lord who tried to kill everyone without magical blood. Draco told her a couple of stories about a school called Hogwarts, and he told her all about his friends and his enemies that are now his best friends. He told her that when he was fifteen some sort of miracle happened. He refused to go into the miracle, claiming that she would understand in a couple of years, but that it was _that _miracle that had helped him to become best friends with a certain group of people that he had hated for most of his life. _

_ Draco told her all about some sort of war with that dark lord guy, and he told her how he had almost been killed. The dark look in his eyes hadn't left at all while he talked to her. Draco explained that while the war was happening one of his friends – he had a gleaming tear in his eyes – had almost been killed by that Voldy thing. He told her that when she was almost killed he pushed her out of the way and he jumped in front of her…_

"We thought it was the killing curse," Draco explained, a solemn look in his teary eyes, "I thought Voldemort was going to kill her. I jumped in front of it without any hesitation. The beam was green, and we all heard him shout the killing curse. I can't explain it. I don't know how to explain it. None of us can, really. Once you get hit with the killing curse, you die. It's automatic. Of course, when Harry was hit with the killing curse he was turned into a Horcrux. We know I'm not a Horcrux though – we all checked to make sure. It still doesn't make any sense. I was hit with the killing curse, I know I was. I have the scar on my back to prove it, but… but that's all it is. It's not a lightning bolt scar like Harry's is, and it's not a Horcrux like Harry's is either. The Ministry and all the Aurors have tried to solve it for years, but no one can explain why I didn't die that night. I should have. But I didn't."

"Maybe…" Tonya bit her bottom lip, "Did you love her? That girl that you saved – did you love her?"

Draco's eyes met hers, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Love is a powerful thing, Draco. I've always imagined that a person in love is a dangerous thing. You never know what they're capable of – a person in love could do anything, really. I've always imagined that love has the power to achieve anything that wouldn't normally make sense. Men and women kill for love all the time, so why can't a person be saved for the same reason? I think that if a person in love, a person who was so broken by a lost, wanted to they could even change time. Maybe you lived because you were in love with her? Maybe when you jumped in front of her to get killed instead, you had somehow conjured up the greatest power of all – your love had saved both of you?"

_ Tonya remembered the funny look that Draco gave her, and she remembered trying to keep herself from puking in front of him. If it was true, if Draco was deeply in love with some girl to be literally willing to die for her, then he wouldn't love her. Why would he love her – a muggle – when he already had some witch waiting for him in London, probably? After shaking away everything that Tonya had told him, Draco continued to describe the wizarding world and how much he had changed after that Voldemort thing was killed. Draco kept pushing it into her head that he was once almost on the bad side. He had told her all about his old thoughts of people like her, and he practically drilled it into her mind that he had once hexed a girl just because she had muggle parents._

_ Draco continued talking to her for an hour, and then he had to leave. The wand in his hand had started to glow a bright red color and he stood up. He told her that he needed to leave to deal with some bad guys in London, but that he would return once they caught them. He asked her to think about everything that he had just told her, and that when he returned he would answer every question she had to ask him. _

_ Tonya glanced at the clock on her wall. He was late. Draco had finally contacted her the night before and said that he had a bunch of paperwork to fill out but that he would be back today. He was an hour late. Hearing the door to her apartment open, Tonya's head snapped up. There he was. He was an hour late, making her wonder what happened to her judgment, but there he was… dressed in black robes once more, looking drained, and staring right at her._

_ Gathering up all of the courage that she could find deep within herself, Tonya walked across the room so that she was standing directly in front of him. "Do you have a girlfriend?"_

_ Draco looked shocked, "What?"_

_ "You said that when you returned you would answer any questions I have."_

_ "I tell you that I'm a wizard and spent seven years in a magical school that teaches us witchcraft and wizardry, and then I'm gone for six weeks, and the first thing you ask me is if I have a girlfriend?"_

_ Tonya nodded her head, refusing to back down from her question. She had six weeks to plan it, and that was what she came up with – she would ask him flat out. "Do you have a girlfriend, Draco Malfoy?"_

_ "No," he chuckled. God, he was cute when his left eyebrow twitched like that. "No, Tonya, I do not have a girlfriend."_

_ A normal reaction to hearing that someone didn't have a girlfriend would have been to simply blush, stutter over your words, and then practically shout at them that you may have some feelings for them in more than just friends way, but Tonya was anything but normal. And in the three months that she had known him, Draco was anything but normal too. Once Draco had assured her that he didn't have a girlfriend, Tonya lunged herself at him. Immediately wrapping her arms around his head, she brought his face down to hers. His eyes were wide in shock, but once her lips connected to his, Draco's hands found themselves on her waist. Tonya moaned at how perfect it all seemed. Draco's leg lifted so that he could kick the door shut, and Tonya melted at how perfectly they both seemed to blend together. Draco's hands fit on her waist as if they were meant to rest there, while her arms fit perfectly around his head; helping her to have leverage while he kissed the hell out of her._

_ "I like you, Draco Malfoy," Tonya muttered once they pulled apart to breathe._

_ "That's funny," he smirked, resting his forehead against hers, "I kind of love you, Tonya Bruhn."_

_ Tonya felt herself grinning like a lovesick school girl. She wanted to rebuke him. How could he love her when they've only known each other for three months? How could he claim to love her when he jumped in front of a killing curse for another girl when he was only fifteen? She wanted to rebuke him, but the light shining in his eyes told her everything. It was true, it was all true – Draco Malfoy was truly in love with her. "Don't leave me," she warned him._

_ "Never," Draco chuckled, pressing his lips to her nose in a loving way, "Not even death could separate us."_

_ "Now tell me," Tonya said, pulling away so that she could grab Draco's hand and lead him towards the couch, "Tell me everything about the wizarding world."_

…

_"Did you get more of the Chocolate Hearts?"_

_ "Yes, babe. I put them on the counter at home."_

_ Grinning, Draco leaned closer to Tonya, and gently kissed her lips. "Go get us a table, love, and I'll order our drinks."_

_ Smiling to herself as she watched Draco order their coffees from their usual cashier, and wait until Billy called out his name, Tonya saw that the only table left was a large one big enough to fit at least ten people. Hating the idea of wasting such a huge table for only the two of them, Tonya sat down at it anyway. She smiled when she saw Draco walking over to the table with their two drinks. It's been three months since they started dating, but everything with them was already a happy routine that neither of them broke, but never truly followed either. A month after becoming a couple, they both decided that it was easier for Draco to just move out of his apartment and into her own. It was still early into their relationship, but neither of them suspected a breakup anytime soon. And it just didn't make any sense for Draco to live in his apartment when he spent all of his time in Tonya's. Now that she knew he was magically flooing himself to London every day for work, Tonya didn't find it suspicious that he seemed to be tired during the days when he didn't do anything at all._

_ "So what did Mike say?" _

_ Looking up from the coffee she had been drinking, Tonya grinned. One of her favorite moments of Draco showing her magic was when he took her to a place called Bridgewater Alley – it was a magical shopping center behind a hidden bar in Lodi. Only magical people could see the entrance into the bar, but after taking her there the first time, Draco had talked to the bar owner, Mike, to make it where Tonya could enter it anytime she wanted to. "He'll see what he can do."_

_ Grinning, Draco looked smug. "So, what do you think, love?"_

_ Blushing at how Draco's intimate name for her could still have such girlish effects on her, Tonya shook her head, "I still don't understand why you'd want to work in a bar?"_

_ "Pub, love," his cheeky smirk annoyed Tonya, "And I told you, I want to take a break from being an Auror. They keep giving me jobs in London, and it's keeping me away from you."_

_ Biting on her lower lip, Tonya stared down at her coffee, "Actually, babe, I was thinking about that. What if – what if we moved to London?"_

_ "What?" Draco's jaw hit the table. "Do you really mean that? But what about here? You love it here?"_

_ Shyly looking up, as if nervous that Draco would think she was insane, Tonya sighed, "But I love you more, and California hasn't really been much of a home to me. The only thing here that makes it worth the horrible memories is you, but I know how much you miss London. Besides, I've always wanted to live in the UK."_

_ "Are you serious about this?"_

_ Tonya nodded her head, "Yes, I'm serious. I mean, think about it Draco, it makes more sense than staying here and you working in a bar. You're an Auror, and you love your job. I can't expect you to give that up. If we were living in London you would be able to work there, and you would be able to come home to me every night instead of sleeping at your parents place while on long assignments. I can get any job while there."_

_ "I'd still rather you didn't work."_

_ "Do not go there with me, Draco Lucius Malfoy!"_

_ Chuckling, Draco nodded his head, "Yes, love. So really, you really want to move to London?"_

_ "Yeah," Tonya nodded her head, "You could be closer to your friends and family, and I get to live in the UK – it's really a win-win if you think about it."_

_ All her life, Tonya had been known as the girl who couldn't keep a relationship – or even a guy in general. They would always get what they want from her then leave the next morning. From what Draco told her, he was also that type of guy. Not the one who would be left of course, but the guy who would take what he wants then forget the girls' names the next morning. At least he was like that for a couple of months when he was fifteen, and he hadn't been in a relationship since then. In the beginning she was scared that he would take what he wanted from her then leave. But it never happened. He took what he wanted every morning, and every night. And occasionally every moment in between, but not once had he left her. In the nights she would always be too nervous to wake up the next morning, fearing that he would be gone. But once her sleep leaves her, she would feel his arms wrapped tightly around her before her eyes even fluttered open. And he's always smiling down at her, telling her how much he loves her peaceful state when she's asleep. He continues to remind her how much he could just hold her in his arms, and watch her sleep for eternity. Some nights he doesn't sleep at all; he just watches her. It was hard to believe that he loved her as much as she loved him. Especially since they've only known each other for six simple months._

_ And it didn't help that Draco Malfoy was anything but simple. He was the type she never saw herself with for so long; the bad boy type with the bad reputation. But unlike all the bad boys she had ever known, he was more pure. His virgin ears remained untouched, while his snow white hair hung over his eyes – she often teased Draco that it was his hair that made him seem dangerous. When he threatened to cut it though, she immediately stopped. Tonya loved running her fingers through his hair, and watching the way his lips would part as she did so. He claimed that only she could take his breath away with such a simple touch. His skin was as pale as a ghost; although she had never really seen a ghost, and couldn't compare it, he promised her that the ghosts he knew were almost the same color as him; pale to the point of being practically translucent. His eyes were perfectly narrowed and such a silvery grey color that his pointed face stood out beautifully in a crowd. Draco would always wear short sleeved shirts, hugging his chest tightly to show off the eight creases hidden beneath it, along with his bulging muscles. He played something called Quidditch, which had helped with that – something Tonya thanked god for every day. _

_"You're staring again," Draco teased her._

_ Grinning, Tonya wouldn't allow herself to be embarrassed for being caught staring. "Well it's mine to stare at."_

_ Chuckling, Draco shook his head knowing full and well what his flying hair was doing to his girlfriend. She actually cried when he threatened to cut his hair. Her obsession was guys with long hair. "And you get all pissy with me whenever I say that you belong to-" he cut off._

_ "What is it?"_

_ Turning around, Tonya saw six people walking towards them. There was a tall and freckly girl with vibrant red hair and bright blue eyes holding onto a black haired boy wearing rounded glasses; he had bright green eyes and a scar on his forehead that had Tonya smiling. With them was a gangly redheaded boy who had his fingers linked in with the fingers of a bushy haired girl with warm brown eyes. Then there was the gay couple – the dark skinned boy with beautiful indigo eyes, and the short Irish boy with eyes as green as his heritage. Tonya knew all of them – not personally, seeing as how she'd never met them before – but she knew all of their names because of the stories that Draco had told her._

_ "Hey guys!" Draco cheerfully stood up, kissing the two girls on the cheeks, and giving each of the guys a manly hug, "What brings you six to America?"_

_ "Hermione wanted a vacation," the redheaded boy spoke, but by the tone of his voice and the way that everyone stared at her Tonya had a feeling that they knew something she didn't. It was the same stare Draco gave her when she said or did something…_

_ "Well, great, everybody this is Tonya Bruhn; the love of my life. Love, these are some of my friends that I'm always talking about. That's Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Blaise Zabini, and Seamus Finnigan."_

_ Standing up so she could kiss all of their cheeks as well, Tonya nervously chuckled when Hermione tightly held onto her. It was almost as if she didn't want to let her go. "It's nice to meet all of you," Tonya smiled, gently pulling away._

_ "It's nice to meet you too, Tonya," she could have sworn there were tears in Harry's eyes, "Draco's always talking about you."_

_ Draco remained standing when everyone else sat down, "I'll get you lot drinks, eh?"_

_ "I'll go with you," Ginny piped up, immediately looping her arm in with Draco's as if they've been doing it forever._

_ Sitting in her chair, Tonya saw that everyone was staring intensely at her; as if scared that she would disappear in any minute. It wasn't until she started to nervously clear her throat and push a strand of hair behind her ear that Seamus immediately started up a conversation. By the time a giggling Ginny, and blushing Draco, returned to the table with fresh coffees for everyone, Tonya and Hermione were in a deep conversation about the rights of house-elves._

…

_ "Oh, come on, pet, you can't hide in there forever."_

_ Tonya was annoyed. It had been nearly two months since she and Draco had moved to London, and everything was fine. They had their own apartment in the wizarding world, Tonya worked in the Leaky Cauldron, Draco's parents were absolutely in love with her, she had met all of his friends and co-workers, she had met every single Weasley, she had met all of the members of the Order, and she had even formed some sort of father-daughter bond with Harry's godfather. It was currently Sirius Black that was now trying to coerce her out of a bedroom._

_ "Go away, Sirius, you can't make me come out of there."_

_ "I'm a wizard, pet, you underestimate my abilities."_

_ Tonya scowled at the chuckling tone in Sirius's voice, "If you use your wand on me, Sirius Orion Black, I'll tell Remus."_

_ "Remus is also waiting for you to get out the bedroom."_

_ "Then I'll tell Tonks," she threatened him, "Or Lucius… better yet, I'll tell Molly."_

_ "Now, why would you have to go there?" Sirius sounded defeated. "You can't stay in there all day."_

_ "Yes, I can!"_

_ "Will you at least tell me why you're locking yourself in there?"_

_ "Because Draco's a dumbass, that's why!"_

_ Tonya could hear snickering from the other side of the door, and she frowned when she realized who the snickering belonged to. "Pans, is that you?"_

_ "Yes, love, it's me. I just arrived here, expecting to see you, but Remus told me you went and locked yourself in here. Would you mind telling me what my dear best friend has done that would cause you to hide in a room?"_

_ "He's planning on taking me for a ride on a broom. I refused to go, so then he said that he has a whole romantic proposal idea for me, but he'll only do so if I get on the broom," Tonya could hear Sirius muttering underneath his breath about something to do with damn future memories but she couldn't make sense of it. Pansy started to snicker. "I don't like heights, Pansy!"_

_ "I know that, darling. And Draco is just being an arse. He's not going to propose to you on a broom ride. He and Charlie has some sort of ridiculous bet going on right now about getting you in the air. Don't be surprised if Charlie says the same thing."_

_ Tonya started to glare at the door as if it were its fault that her boyfriend was such an idiot! "I swear if Charlie tells me he'll only propose to me on a broom, I'm going to accept it. And then I'm going to marry Charlie, and Draco won't be invited to the wedding."_

_ "Well then you're going to have a wedding crasher – OW, bloody hell woman!"_

_ Snorting when she heard Pansy slap Draco once he opened his mouth, Tonya folded her arms as if he could see her, "Go away, Draco!"_

_ "Love, you're being slightly ridiculous!"_

_ "Your face is slightly ridiculous! Now go away!"_

_ "Draco, go away, Tonya obviously needs time to plot your demise right now."_

_ "Blue-" Tonya said, "Tell Charlie that I want a blue wedding!"_

_ "You're not marring Charlie Weasley."_

_ "Well, obviously not yet. He's got to propose first."_

_ Pansy sighed, "Draco, don't break down the door. Sirius had enough problems having to fix it that time I went into labor."_

_ "Speaking of gross incidents I don't want to ever remember, where is the little tyke?"_

_ "I wanted to bring him here, but Blaise and Seamus ambushed me just as I was about to leave. So I left him at home with them and Dean."_

_ Tonya pressed her ear to the door, but she could only hear whispering, then suddenly, "Fine, Tonya, if you're going to hide in there I'm going over to Pansy's house. I promised Remus and Tonks I'd take Teddy today anyway. So I'll take him to play with Larry."_

_ "A two month old baby can't play with a nine month old, you dunderhead!"_

_ Tonya laughed when she heard Pansy slap Draco again. "Hit him again, Pans!"_

_ "Ouch!"_

_ Tonya smirked, "That's what you get for being an arse, Draco Malfoy. Now go away before I have Pansy call your mum."_

_ "You wouldn't!"_

_ "Oh yes, I would! And she'll just love hearing how you used a proposal against me…"_

…

_ Tonya was squealing. She was a married woman now. Dressed in a beautiful white wedding gown that had lace covering her entire back and sides, Tonya's hair fell to the middle of her back; with emerald green tips that she did as a surprise for Draco. Sirius had walked her down the aisle in place of her father, who she didn't even bother to alert to tell that she was getting married, and now they were all laughing and dancing at the reception. The wedding had taken place at the Malfoy Manor, but now they were all gathered at the Burrow. She looked around at all of her friends while standing on the side by herself._

_ Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Fleur, Angelina, and Pansy were the bridesmaids, while Harry, Ron, Neville, Charlie, Blaise, and Dean were all the best men. As per tradition the maid of honor had to dance with the best man while the others all danced with who they walked next to. It was also tradition that the dates of the chosen ones all had to dance with one another, and Tonya laughed with excited glee when she saw that everyone took those traditions very seriously. Harry and Hermione danced together while Ron danced with his sister – it worked out okay because the group was made of couples. Luna and Neville were partnered together in more ways than one, and Fleur had no problem dancing with her husband's favorite brother. Pansy and Dean were already married, so it wasn't such a shock to see the couple holding each other as closely as possible while sharing their first dance, and Angelina and Blaise danced perfectly together. It was to everyone's amusement when George held his hand out to ask Seamus for the first dance of the night, and it was also to everyone's amusement when George held Seamus tightly to him so they could gracefully sway to the love song that was playing._

_ All around them the other couples started to join in as well. Seeing as how Charlie was still single, Bill danced with Parvati Patil. Lucius danced with Molly, and Arthur danced with Narcissa – the Weasleys took temporary position as parents of the bride so they could dance with the parents of the groom. Remus was dancing with Tonks, and to everyone's enjoyment Sirius was dancing with his cousin Andromeda while her husband preferred to stay on the sidelines. Professor McGonagall had even managed to drag Professor Snape up to his feet, and Lee Jordan was dancing with Alicia Spinnet. The scar on his face was barely even visible while he danced with his girlfriend. Eight month old Lawrence Dean Thomas was bouncing slightly in his little bouncer while fifteen month old Teddy Remus Lupin twirled around in circles by himself, enjoying his blue hair and purple colored eyes._

_ Hearing someone giggling, Tonya turned her head and shook her head fondly. Three months before, Fleur had come back home from her trip to France with a blonde girl attached to her side. It seems as if one of Fleur's uncles had had an affair and had a secret love child. Arianna Delacour was the same age as the twins, and had somehow managed to entrance Fred Weasley with her long blonde curls and largely round blue eyes. Fleur had found her while doing a quick job at the France branch of Gringotts – Arianna was a teller there – and after an hour of talking, Fleur had asked her long lost cousin to come home to London with her so she could meet her family. Arianna had only meant to stay for two weeks, but after meeting Fred she kept delaying her trip back home to France. Nobody minded it; she was a sweet girl, and she certainly had won the heart of one of the redheaded pranksters. Everyone suspected that if she did go back to France, there would suddenly be a France branch of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes._

_ "I'm pretty sure the bride isn't supposed to be standing alone."_

_ Lifting her head, Tonya saw Lucius standing in front of her. "Well, the groom seems to be a bit preoccupied."_

_ Lucius looked back and smiled fondly when he saw his son doing some sort of ridiculous dance move with a cackling, older witch, "That he is. May I have this dance, my daughter?"_

…

_ They were both lying down on the bed with Teddy and Larry curled up between them. Teddy had his hair pale blonde like Draco's, while he was shirtless and lightly snoring. Larry's raven colored curls were sprawled in his face, while the one year old slept soundly on his stomach. Tonya giggled when she heard Teddy snoring, and gently teased Draco, saying that he got it from him. Rolling his eyes, Draco allowed one of his hands to softly caress both of the toddlers' faces. Tonya's hand reached over Teddy and Larry, and rested on Draco's thigh. They were both smiling at each other then they would look back down at the sleeping boys._

_ Staring into Tonya's eyes, Draco saw the longing gaze in them. "What do you think?" he asked her, "About one day having our own kids?"_

_ Tonya stopped breathing. Staring into Draco's eyes, she tried to read his emotions. "What?"_

_ "I'm serious," he grinned, "What do you think about one day having our own kids?"_

_ "If I were to tell you I was pregnant right now, what would you do?"_

_ "Probably wake Teddy and Larry up by shouting in excitement then take them to somebody else to watch 'em so we could celebrate properly," Draco's eyebrows wriggled at this point, "Then I would floo to everybody's house that I could think of and shout at them that we were having a child."_

_ "Well, I'm not."_

_ "I know," Draco chuckled. "You seemed too calm when you asked the question."_

_ "Would you really be excited if we were to have a child?"_

_ "Yes, I really would. Would you?"_

_ Tonya paused for a couple of seconds while thinking back to her past. After a while she grinned. "Yeah," she nodded her head, "I would. I'd like to have your children, Draco Malfoy."_

_ "Well, good," Draco grinned, smirking. "Because my children are the only ones you're allowed to have," hearing Larry snorting in his sleep, he chuckled. "Well, except for the ones we're babysitting of course. But I want an army of children."_

_ "What?"_

_ "I want us to have our own little Quidditch team and then we'll train them to become pros and they'll all play for Slytherin and they'll defeat all of Harry's kids and become an even better Quidditch player than Ginny."_

_ Tonya's jaw dropped. "I am not having seven kids, Draco."_

_ "And our first six will all be boys," Draco didn't seem to hear Tonya protesting against his dreams. His eyes were glazed with the idea of what he was saying. "We'll have six little Malfoy boys, and then the last one will be a miniature you. She's going to be so spoiled, and she's going to be the best Seeker just like her Daddy is, and with her six older brothers watching her she'll never be allowed to have any guy friends, even if they're gay. We can't trust the gay boys to hang out with our daughter because she'll turn them straight – I see the way Blaise looks at you sometimes."_

_ Tonya furiously shook her head. "I am not having seven kids. We can have two or three kids, and our oldest one will be a girl so she can boss her younger brothers around."_

_ "I am a wizard, love," Draco rolled his eyes as if Tonya was a silly little child. "My godfather was a Potions' Master. I'll simply just feed you potions until you have six boys then a girl. We'll create our own little army of Malfoy children that will make Molly seem as if her family is tiny."_

_ Tonya's eyes widened. "I am _not _having seven kids!"_

_ "Our daughter is going to be the princess of the world and she's going to live in a castle, and she'll have everything specially designed in pink just for her and I'll buy her a unicorn for her fifth birthday, and…"_

_ "My daughter is not going to wear pink. Her favorite colors will be crimson and gold because she's going to want to be in Gryffindor."_

_ "Don't be ridiculous, Tonya. Our daughter is going to be in Slytherin."_

_ "If you're planning on having too many sons then I want our daughter to be in Gryffindor. And I want one of our sons to be in Hufflepuff."_

_ "Now you're talking like a drunken person on the side of the streets. No son with my blood will ever be sorted into Hufflepuff. And our daughter will be in Slytherin along with her six older brothers."_

_ "I'm not pushing out seven kids, Draco; I'm alright with the most being at four. Our daughter will be the first-born and she'll be in Gryffindor. The rest of our kids can all be boys, but our first boy will in Hufflepuff and the other two can be in Slytherin. That's it – that's the only way I'll have kids with you."_

_ Draco rolled his eyes. "We're having seven kids, just like the Weasleys, the first six will be boys, the youngest will be my princess, and they're all going to be in Slytherin."_

_ "I bet you our first kid is going to be a girl!"_

_ "Don't make bets with wizards, Tonya."_

_ "Because you know that you're wrong."_

_ "No, I'm right. You're wrong," Draco's eyes seemed to light up as they usually did when Tonya would say certain things, and then he smirked, "It's almost as if I've seen the future, love, our first child is a boy."_

_ "If you're right and our fist kid is a boy, I'm willing to buy our kids brooms before they can walk. But if I'm right and we have a girl first, we decorate our daughter's room in Gryffindor colors."_

_ "We're having seven kids; six boys and one girl, who will all be Slytherins. If I'm wrong I'm even willing to buy you Gryffindor colored jewelry the day that our final child is sorted into a house other than Slytherin."_

_ "For every child that's not sorted into Slytherin, I want a complete jewelry set in their house colors, and our daughter will have Gryffindor colored jewelry to match her house as well. But we stop at four kids."_

_ Draco smirked, "Very well! And we can stop at seven!" his eyes widened, and Tonya groaned when she saw the look on his face, "Looks like our kids will learn to fly before they walk."_

…

_ "Are you sure?"_

_ Rolling her eyes, Tonya shoved the stick into his face, "You said you wanted this."_

_ "I do," Draco quickly nodded his head, "I do want this. It's just – are you sure?"_

_ "Urgh! Yes, I'm sure!"_

_ "Really?"_

_ "Read the stick, Draco."_

_ "You know I don't understand these silly muggle contraptions!" Draco's silver eyes scanned the stick in his hands, and then he grunted in frustration, "I'm calling Molly."_

_ "Why Molly?" _

_ "She'll know the spell to determine if you are or not!"_

_ "Draco Lucius Malfoy, I am telling you that I am pregnant. And that is all you need as confirmation! Now you said you wanted this child, and I have grown to liking the idea of having this child! You are either with me or not!"_

_ Draco's eyes widened, "Of course I'm with you! This is it… we're having a child! Oh, Merlin, we're having a child! I don't know what to do with a child! What will it eat? Where will it sleep? Oh, Merlin, where will it live? We need a bigger house. We need a mansion! You promised me that we could move into a real house once we got a kid!" Tonya watched in amusement as Draco started to run around their apartment; panicking, "You need to quit your job! I'll owl Tom! No, I'll floo him! No, I've got to call Mother and Father first! Oh, Sirius will want to know. Oh, we've got to tell Harry and Ginny. Wait – Charlie made me make an Unbreakable Vow that he'd be the first one to know once you got pregnant, I have to tell him first or this child will grow up fatherless! After Charlie, I'll call the Burrow – that takes care of most of the Weasleys. Merlin, a baby! How do you handle one of those things? Tonya, I don't know what to do with a baby!"_

_ "Draco," reaching out so she could stop Draco from pacing everywhere like a chicken without its head, Tonya stared at him fondly, "Draco, love, you are the best uncle to both Teddy and Larry – those boys love you. You have been there for both of them from the minute that they were born, and you'll do the same with our daughter."_

_ Draco suddenly frowned, "Our son, you mean. We're having a son, love, we've been through this. Our first six kids will all be boys, and then our last one will be my little princess, and they'll…"_

…

_ "What is this?" Tonya entered Grimmauld Place, and found Sirius sitting on the couch with a tin of sugar cookies next to him._

_ Grinning, Sirius jumped off the couch and quickly wrapped his arms around the pregnant girl he loved like a daughter – he did walk her down the aisle after all. "Come, pet," he said, leading her towards the couch as she wobbled next to him._

_ "Sirius," Tonya groaned, "I came here thinking you wouldn't treat me like everyone else. I mean, when Fleur was three months pregnant she was allowed to walk around without an entourage of people."_

_ "Yes, well, the situation's quite different ain't it?"_

_ "Why is everyone saying that?" Tonya growled._

_ Hiding his smirk, Sirius held up the tin of cookies as he sat next to Tonya on the couch, "Sugar cookie?"_

_ Eyeing the offered cookie as if it were poisoned, Tonya slowly accepted it from the grinning wizard, "What is going on, Sirius? Everyone is treating me like some sort of fragile doll. I understand that I'm pregnant, but I'm not the only one. Go bother Fleur or something."_

_ "Sorry, pet, but you'll understand it in a month or so. We're just all so excited."_

_ "Excited about what?"_

_ "An old friend of ours is coming home," Sirius told her, trying to avoid the soft blue eyes that he knew would be filled with confusion. "We haven't seen her in years, and she'll be coming back to us in another month or so. Sugar cookie?"_

…

"Ouch – fuck!" rubbing her head, Tonya started to sit up. Slowly opening her eyes, she tried to make sense of everything that happened. The last thing that she rememdered Voldemort had just been about to kill her, but then Draco pushed her out of the way and towards the stupid golden light. Draco! She tried to stand up, but saw that she was lying down in a bed. She frowned. How did she end up in a bed? Throwing the covers off herself, she saw her large baby bump, and her frown deepened – she shouldn't be pregnant anymore. She did it – she saved Draco's life, so how was she still – wait a minute… Draco was there. Hermione told her that Draco knew the truth about everything… her head was starting to hurt, and Tonya continued to rub it. Draco was at the Ministry with them.

Those dreams – what the hell were they? Draco was never her neighbor in her old apartment. She didn't meet Seamus and Blaise in the coffee shop. Draco didn't want to work with Mike – Draco hated Mike! Pansy – who the hell was Pansy, and why did she have a kid with Dean? Dean! She gasped. It was Dean who killed Draco in the first place; she figured it out when McGonagall was cooking her breakfast right before Dumbledore – oh, God, Dumbledore. She had watched Dumbledore die! She watched as he fell right before her eyes. Her head started to hurt even more. Memories of _her _past were starting to mix in with the dreams she just had. They were all fluttering together – giving her a sort of sequence of two different realities.

"Oh, you're up?"

Snapping her head up, Tonya's eyes widened. Her headache intensified, but she ignored it. Draco was standing in front of her. But it was impossible… wasn't it? She watched him die. But then she remembered something – something from her dream. Or was it her memory? "You – you died…"

Draco frowned, "We were sure the potion that Severus made for you would have restored all of your memories so that you'd be all caught up when you woke up. What's the last thing you remember?"

"You dying," Tonya blurted out without thinking. Suddenly the realization of everything hit her at once, and she was crying.

"Blimey, Draco," Ron entered the room, "What'd you do to her?"

"Nothing," Draco was still frowning, but walked over to the bed, "Tonya, love, are you alright?"

"No… yes… no…" burying her head into Draco's shoulders, Tonya allowed his scent to flood her every being. Feeling his arms wrap tightly around her she started to cry some more, "You… I saw you… he killed you."

"Yes," Draco nodded his head, "But it was love that saved me. Do you not remember, Tonya? It was you who told me that the power of love was more dangerous than anything else."

"My – my dreams," Tonya was still sobbing into the broad shoulders that she never thought she'd feel against her again.

Draco chuckled, and started to rub her back as he shook his head, "Not dreams, love, they were memories. Severus worked on it while we waited for you to wake up. You came back home three days ago. The memories were supposed to show you everything that happened from the minute we met on the streets that night up to you and I talking about baby names."

"Baby names?"

Draco nodded his head, "Although now that you know about your past history, and your little trip into the past, it's safe to give you back your things."

"My – my things?" Tonya's head was still hurting. She was still confused about everything that just happened.

Draco nodded his head again. "When you went into the past, love, you changed the outcome of everything. Aside from Dumbledore, everyone else is living now. When you got sucked through the portal to bring you back home here, you left behind everything that you had kept at Grimmauld Place – your baby book and your photo album. We all remembered everything that happened, and Sirius kept your things in perfect shape for you. Right after graduation I moved to America so I could purposely meet you. You see, I had memories while you were there in the past. The same way that you just had memories now, I've had them in the past."

"So – so you know everything then? Everything about our other life together?"

Draco grinned, "Yes, I know all about how you saved me that night in the rain. I know how you used to sneak into Bridgewater Alley to buy me things, and I know about our silly little fights over balls and hockey games. Just as you know that it was I who took you to Bridgewater Alley for the first time."

"My head hurts," Tonya sighed.

"It takes a while getting used to it. It was sort of weird when you popped up here. We were sitting in the living room, watching the telly and talking about baby names, then you just disappeared and before I had any time to react you were flying into my arms from some sort of golden light. Father arrived three seconds after you did. I called everyone once I realized that it was you returning from the past."

"And the others?" Tonya asked, still confused about everything, "Do they remember everything too?"

Draco nodded his head, his grin dropping. "They knew as much as I did in the beginning; after you left us in fifth year. We sort of all grew up knowing the same amount of things – aside from my personal memories – but when you arrived three days ago, some of them got new memories back as well. It sort of just hit them all at once, as if it were something on a shopping list that they had just remembered to buy at the last minute."

"Who?"

Draco sighed, "Mother, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Luna, George, Angelina, Bill, Fleur, Blaise, Seamus, and Charlie."

"So all of the ones who had helped to search for the person who killed you, then?"

Draco nodded his head, "Tonya, they-"

"Caught him?" when Draco nodded his head again, Tonya sighed and snuggled in closer against him. She noticed that Ron had left them alone. "Do they remember everything as vividly as I do? Do they remember things because they lived it?"

Draco nodded his head once more, "Yes. They've been more sober since their memories returned to them, and George has hardly left Fred out of his sight since. For some reason they're the only ones who remember everything though. Molly and Arthur only know things from what you've told them. They don't remember living a life with one of their sons dead."

"Then they're lucky."

Hearing the chilling tone in Tonya's voice, Draco cuffed her head between his hands, "Hey," he said, staring into her eyes, "Listen to me, Tonya, I'm alive now. Although I'm still upset at everything you did by going into the past, I'm alive now! I'm not going anywhere this time around."

"Do you promise?"

Chuckling, Draco nodded his head and pressed his lips to hers, "I promise you, Tonya Anne Malfoy, I am not leaving you again!"

"Good!"

After an hour of staying inside the bedroom so Tonya could get used to all of her newly rushed memories mixing in with her old ones, she finally allowed Draco to drag her out into the living room. When she went into the past she was only a couple of weeks pregnant and living in an apartment, but now she was nearly five months pregnant and living inside of a five bedroom house that Draco had somehow coerced her into agreeing to buy. Entering the living room that Draco dragged her to, Tonya saw Dean Thomas sitting on the couch surrounded by all of their friends. She remembered making the connection the day that she returned back to the future, and she remembered making sure that Sirius them all knew it too. According to Draco though, Harry also knew the truth because the dead Draco told the dead Harry about it in the vision he had of him after allowing Voldemort to kill the Horcrux inside of him. It was all very confusing, and still sort of too much for Tonya to handle for now, but Draco told her that after everyone's memories returned to them Harry admitted that he had always known the truth of who killed Draco – he told them all that dead Draco wanted them to forgive him and move on.

Dean looked up and saw Tonya staring at him. Sighing, he handed the lightly dark skinned two year old to Pansy and he stood up. Tonya could see that he looked healthier this time around; he wasn't mostly bones and dragging himself this time. How could she not have noticed that he was depressed in those years that she had been his friend? "I'm sorry, Tonya," Dean said, slowly approaching her. "Harry finally told me the truth of everything. I mean, Pansy and I always knew that you traveled to the past to change everything, because they told us when they returned from the Ministry. But I didn't know that I – well, that I was the reason why everything happened. I'm sorry!"

Tonya stared up at him. His skin had such a healthy glow to it, and his eyes were shining so brightly that she could only stare. "I – I think I would have done the same thing," she finally managed to say. "I mean, I did go into the past after all. It's a different life, Dean; let's try to move on from it. I see the difference in you now from the difference in the Dean that I once knew. I already like this version better."

"Thank you," Dean nodded his head; knowing that it would be a long while before Tonya was fully comfortable around him again.

Pansy rolled her eyes, "Slap him, Ton! Hermione told me that he killed himself!"

"What?" Tonya's eyes widened.

"Oh, honestly, Pansy," Ginny snapped, "Have some tact. Tonya was in the past during that time, so she didn't know about it. She could have lived her life out just perfectly fine if she never knew about that."

"No," Tonya quickly shook her head, "Dean, you can't."

Chuckling, Dean shook his head, "I promise I won't kill myself, Tonya. I've got a wife and son to take care of."

"Tonya," Harry said, jumping up, "Sirius gave me your books to return to you. He would've been here himself, but he and Remus got called into work."

Reaching out so she could grab the books from him, Tonya allowed her fingers to trace over the worn out looking baby book that she had taken to treating like a bible for the past few months. "Did you guys read it?"

"No!"

"Of course not!"  
>"What?"<p>

"Invade your privacy?"

"Never!"

"Humbug!"

"Whaaaaat?"

Seeing the guilty looks on everyone's faces as they all quickly shook their heads, Tonya started to laugh. Looking up, she saw the love in Draco's face as he stared down at her, and she smiled up at him. She was finally content! It seemed like everything was finally falling in place. Maybe this was the life she was originally meant to have? Maybe Draco was meant to be killed just so she, with the power of love, could travel to the past and bring everyone back to life? "Where is everyone else?" she asked, looking around the already crowded living room. "I figure Charlie would at least want to be here."

"Bill trapped Charlie with Fleur while he's at work. The two of them wanted to be here for when you woke up, but Mum has their place on lockdown. Victoire is coming any day now, and it's not safe for Fleur to apparate, and Bill doesn't want the excitement of you returning to us to bring the baby too soon."

Tonya cocked an eyebrow at Ginny, "I've been with you guys for the past two years?"

"Yes, but now you actually know who we are, and we can talk about things around you now without worrying about Draco, Remus, Sirius, Bill, Charlie, or Mad Eye killing us," Neville pointed out.

"We've missed you," Luna sadly sighed.

"I haven't," Pansy stated, watching as her son played with the toy truck on the floor in front of her, "I mean, I've only met you once – in this time. There really wasn't much to miss, was there?"

Laughing, Tonya rolled her eyes. From the memories that Snape's potion had given her, Tonya saw that Pansy had become her best friend. Her trip to the past had changed a lot of friendships, actually. Draco was still close to Ginny, but he had an unbreakable bond with Angelina that had somehow started to form from the Ministry battle, whereas Blaise had grown extremely close to Luna and Hermione. Pansy had replaced Blaise as the third wheel in the little trio that was once Tonya, Seamus, and Blaise, while Tonya had also become close enough to Fleur to become Victoire's godmother. Bill was to be her son's godfather while Fleur was to become godmother. It seemed like the relationships she had formed in the past had followed her through now… which stroked her as odd seeing as how she hadn't known about her bonds with everyone until just now. It seemed like the 'new' Tonya had fallen for the charms of everyone from the past. Everyone in the past knew they had to work Tonya over somehow until she returned to them, so they all worked hard to make her love them again. It seemed to work.

Tonya soon learned a lot from both the new memories and from everyone talking. Remus and Tonks were raising Teddy, who was still bonded with the unborn Victoire. Hermione and Ron were still engaged, as were Harry and Ginny. Neville and Luna still got married right after Draco and Tonya, while Pansy and Dean got married two months after graduation, and had their son in November of 1998 – one week after Draco and Tonya moved to the wizarding world. Seamus and Blaise were the godparents; as best friends to each of the parents. Mad Eye was still insane, McGonagall was headmistress at Hogwarts, Snape remained as Potions master; never wanting to be the Defense professor, Bill was the Defense Professor, Angelina was pregnant as well; due only four months after Tonya, Fred was engaged to Fleur's cousin, Arthur and Lucius spent every weekend together at Lucius's fishing cabin, Blaise and Seamus are still married, Percy is still a prat but he's back in the family and loved again, Lee and Alicia are engaged, Oliver Wood and Katie Bell got married, aside from Lee's face scar and the scar on Draco's back nobody got majorly injured in the Ministry battle, and Lavender Brown was opening up a jewelry shop with her best friend Parvati. Tonya also learned that Lucius and Snape were the only two people with the dark mark that still lived; Bellatrix, Nott, and Rabastan Lestrange were all caught and killed right after the Aurors arrived at the Ministry with the Minister. Because of everything that happened, Fudge had been fired and Kingsley was still the Minister of Magic; proving that he was always meant to be one.

It pleased Tonya to know that her friendships formed with the main four who lived with her from her first day in the past had grown stronger over the past two years. When she first met Sirius he had instantly become like a father to her, even taking Lucius's original place as the one who walked her down the aisle at her wedding. Remus was the one who danced with her during the father-daughter dance, and to her amusement Bill and Charlie both made Draco do all sorts of tasks before they granted him the permission to marry her. The Tonya from her memories didn't understand it, but she welcomed it anyway – loving the relationships she had with everyone. Now that she was back from the past and had her true memories with her, Tonya laughed at everything that had happened in the past two years from the moment that she had met Draco. It annoyed her how every single person in the past went against her wishes and allowed Draco to know everything, but she was relieved. She had been so scared and depressed about returning to a time without Draco and her child, but instead she returned home to her loving husband, her unborn child still growing in her belly, and the warmth of all of her friends that she had literally just left behind. This was a world where George had both his ears, Fred was still alive, Teddy was being raised by his parents, and everyone learned that Draco and Blaise weren't the only Slytherins fighting the good fight. This was simply just a better world to live in.

Laughing as everyone talked around her, Tonya opened her baby book to the very last page that she wrote on. She could see Draco reading over her shoulder, but she didn't mind. It was a short entry anyway!

_** Today is the second of May, 1998, and today is the day that I save everyone and lose everything! Whenever I**_ _**have my doubts, my father-in-law always asks me a question. It's the same question every time, but his question and my answer always fills me up with hope. Seeing as how Lucius is not here to ask the question, I shall ask it myself:**_

_** "Do you remember what I told you on your wedding day?"**_

_** Yes, I do remember. I could never forget it. Lucius looked me in my eyes right before he walked me down that aisle, and he held tightly onto my shoulders then said, "While I watched my son grow up he always had to have the most extravagant of things, he never liked anything simple. But I can see it in his eyes… he is so in love with you that just your mere presence sets him into a smile! I've always wanted the best for my son and today I have the honor of presenting you to him. You've melted his heart, and you my darling… are the Simplest Simplicity!"**_

…

**A/N: Okay, so you guys have no idea how long I have waited just to write that damn last sentence. It was literally that phrase that created this entire story! I had originally meant to just end it right there, liking how Lucius's words would be the ending phrase to sum up everything, and it's a happy ending! But… I also have this obsession about having to know extra details when I'm pau reading a story, so hence the upcoming epilogue! I don't know when I'm going to post it up because I really do want to edit this entire story (I have 'to' and 'too' mistakes that are annoying me for the entire first half of this story) before posting it up. I'm also not going to start writing the new chapter until the 27th because I want to be able to spend time with my family, since I gave up getting drunk on Christmas Eve with my cousins and friends just to finish this chapter up for you guys. I do promise though that it will be up before New Years Day, I just don't know when for sure?**

**The epilogue isn't important… it's just gonna be a 'somewhat years later' sort of thing, and it'll finally reveal the name that Tonya chose for the baby(: it will also answer questions to the bet that Tonya and Draco have going on(:**

**So I hope you guys liked this chapter! It really was this chapter that I had planned out before anything else. What about the very ending? Please tell me what you guys think about that at least? Did anyone even remember Lucius telling Tonya to remember what he said to her before the wedding? It was in one of the beginning chapters. Did you guys like how I made her somewhat forgive Dean without forgiving him? Was this a good present to all of you?**

**I just want to thank all of you who have read, favorited, followed, and reviewed this story! I especially want to thank those of you who have stuck with this from the very first chapter that I posted up(: **


	31. 19 Years Later

**IMPORTANT! Please go back and at least reread the chapter before this one! I reedited the entire story, and there are no more mistakes (grammar, spelling, or just in general) throughout this story, and I have added some minor things in that I thought was already in there from the first chapter all the way up to the last one. The chapter before this one has about 2 pages and a half worth of things added into it though. So I highly suggest you guys go and reread at least that chapter before reading this(:**

**Wow… so this is it… the actual last chapter. I do highly suggest that you guys reread the entire story (because now it's cleaned up and goes right from beginning to end without pauses) but this is it… the epilogue to the story that I really don't want to see end yet! I hope you guys enjoy it, and I wish you all a happy New Years!(:**

Nineteen Years Later

"Scorpius Charles Malfoy!"

The black haired boy with the storming grey eyes stopped running and sheepishly turned back to the blonde haired girl running after him, "Blimey, Vic, what ya' yelling for?"

"You're nineteen years old, Scorp, don't you think it's time that you stopped running already? You're scaring all the muggles!"

Looking around Kings Cross train station, Scorpius blushed a bright red color, and started to scratch at his long black strands. "No one told them to watch me."

"No one told you to run around like an idiot!"

"Don't call me an idiot, Victoire!"

"Then stop acting like one!" sticking her tongue out between her brightly red painted lips, the beautiful blonde witch ran perfectly manicured hands through her long blonde curls. "What time did your mum them say they were coming?"

"They should be here soon," Scorpius replied, walking towards the barriers. "Orion called me to say that Dad was having some sort of mental breakdown now that Lyra's leaving home. Mum is trying to calm him down."

There was a loud laugh coming from behind them, and the two nineteen year olds turned around to see Ron Weasley walking towards them. At thirty-nine years old, Ron's hair was starting to thin out, but he was still as gangly as ever. He had his arms around his grinning wife, who didn't look a day over thirty – at least that's what all the kids told her. She actually looked at least thirty-five. "Is Draco crying?"

Elbowing her husband in the ribs, Hermione rolled her eyes, "Oh, shut up, Ron."

"Yeah, Dad," came the teasing smirk of eleven year old Hugo Arthur Weasley. His hair was brown like his mum's, but shaggy like his dad's, while his eyes were large and brown and only his nose was scattered with freckles. "I seem to remember Mum having to comfort you when you cried two years ago when Rose left for Hogwarts."

There was a soft laugh from behind Hugo, and a head of bushy vibrant red hair could be seen, "Yeah, Dad," thirteen year old, Rose Jean Weasley stepped out from behind her little brother, "You cried the whole car ride here."

Scowling, Ron wagged his finger at his daughter, "You're supposed to be on my side, Rosie!"

"I'm just saying," smirking in the way that Lupis Blaise Malfoy taught her to, the Weasley witch ended up turning towards her cousin. "Hey, Vic, is Dom and Louis here yet?"

Snickering behind the laughing Scorpius, Victoire playfully slapped her godbrother to make him stop laughing in front of her aunt and uncle. "I think so," she nodded her head.

"Come on guys," Hermione said, trying to hide her laughter behind a fit of coughs as Ron scolded Rose for looking like a Malfoy. "Let's get onto the platform already. Scorpius, you and Victoire run through it first. Hugo and I will follow."

"What about me?" Rose cried out.

Grabbing tightly onto his daughter's hand, Ron smirked at her, "You get to go through with your father."

Running through the platform, Scorpius pulled Victoire out of the way before they could have a repeat of what happened last year. Frank and Alice Longbottom didn't move out of the way long enough and Sirius ran into them with a trolley filled with James and Albus's trunks on it. It didn't help that Lyra and Lily were both sitting on the trunks and shouting at their uncle to go faster. Tonya, Ginny, and Luna nearly killed the ex-convict.

Hearing Victoire release a squeal of delight, Scorpius rolled his eyes. Turning around, he saw Teddy Remus Lupin walking towards them. Teddy's hair was set in its usual turquoise spikes while his eyes remained a bright purple. Dressed in his Auror robes, Teddy made his way through the crowded train station. Scorpius's heart started to beat faster when he saw the seventeen year old witch walking next to Teddy though. With her eyes set to their usual bright brown color, and her hair as brightly pink as possible, Gemini Andromeda Lupin walked next to her older brother; already dressed in her Head Girl robes. Gemini's eyes turned a shade darker when they landed on Scorpius. It was to everyone's amusement, except for Bill and Remus's, when the two Lupin siblings seemed to fall in love with the two godsiblings. It became obvious to everyone, when young Teddy followed the pregnant Fleur around, that her Veela blood had claimed her mate. And it also became obvious to everyone, when young Scorpius followed the pregnant Tonks around, that Remus's werewolf blood had leaked down to his unborn daughter and she had claimed the oldest Malfoy child as her own.

"You look better since I saw you last, my love," Scorpius grinned, pulling his girlfriend into his arms.

Giggling, much to her brother's annoyance, Gemini nodded her head, "It's been a week since the full moon, Scorp, of course I'm looking better."

"Don't you need to go on the train already, Gem?" Teddy asked his sister, wrapping his arms around Victoire. "I told Mum and Dad that I'd see you on the train."

"Don't get your knickers in a twist," Gemini rolled her eyes, "I promised Tonya that I'd help Lyra get settled onto the train."

"She has six brothers to help her out."

"I'm not allowed on the train," Scorpius reminded Teddy, "I graduated already, remember. I'm just here to see my girlfriend off for her last year at Hogwarts, and to say bye to all the brats."

"My mistake, she has _five_ brothers to help her out," Teddy corrected with a snicker. "Scorp, aren't you supposed to be in Bulgaria for training right now?"

"Hermione talked to Krum for me," he shook his head, "Dad would have disowned me if I didn't say goodbye to Lyra, so I'm leaving tomorrow night. Krum doesn't mind; he's just glad that I'm playing on his team."

Victoire started to laugh, "You should have seen Uncle George's reaction when he heard that Roxy turned down the offer to play Chaser for Bulgaria. He claimed that the hospital mixed the two of you up and the Malfoys had raised his true child."

"Yes," Gemini also laughed, "Because the girl with red hair definitely belongs to the Malfoys while the boy with grey eyes is definitely a Weasley. It makes total sense. St. Mungos got the babies mixed."

The group had been too busy laughing to notice the large group enter the platform. It reminded all of the parents there of when the Weasley children used to leave for school. It was a family consisting of six children and two adults – their seventh child was missing somewhere. The boys were all exceedingly tall and handsome; each one with shaggy black hair that fell into each of their eyes. Like Scorpius, two of his brothers had grey eyes while the other three all had soft blue eyes like their mum. They all had black hair though, the first six Malfoys to ever be born with non-blonde hair. It amused their mum to no end. Leo Ronald Malfoy was built like his mum; slender and curvy, but he was snarky like his dad. He was one of the Malfoy brothers with blue eyes. Draco Lucius Malfoy the second was in his sixth year at Hogwarts, and the carbon copy of his father except for his black hair. Like Scorpius, he had grey eyes, and like his two older brothers he was Prefect. Orion John Malfoy had blue eyes like his mum, was made prefect like one of his namesakes and three older brothers, and he also had the tendency to act like his namesakes. Orion was a troublemaker that had McGonagall constantly wanting to shoot herself with her own wand. With eyes as grey as his dad's, and the build for Beater, Lupis Blaise Malfoy was a force to be reckoned with on the Quidditch pitch. When he was together with Albus Potter and Derrek Lee Jordan, nobody was safe; on or off the pitch. Then there was Phoenix William Malfoy – the one who had his mum's soft blue eyes, his mum's dark black curls, and his mum's mysterious ways. The only one who seemed to really understand him was Lily Potter.

"SCORPIUS!"

Jumping up in fright when he heard his name being shouted, Scorpius turned around and saw his large family. He spotted his baby sister first though. With long blonde curls that fell to her waist, the youngest Malfoy child was the only one who took their dad's Malfoy blonde hair. She was an odd child, and she was spoiled the most – from everyone. With eyes as largely rounded as their mum's, her left eye was grey while her right eye was soft blue. Something as simple as two different colored eyes was unheard of in the wizarding world, but Tonya assured everyone that it was quite common in the muggle world.

"Scorpius!" eleven year old Lyra Anne Narcissa Malfoy was jumping up and down and calling to her oldest brother.

"Lyra," Tonya groaned, rubbing her forehead, "Will you please stop jumping up and down like that. I'm afraid the calming draught that Pansy made for your dad is going to wear off soon."

Laughing, Scorpius made his way towards his family. Scooping Lyra up into his arms, he started to swing her around, "Hey, brat," he grinned, "You ready for school?"

"Yup," Lyra nodded her head eagerly. Looking around Scorpius she saw Gemini, "Hey, Gem," she grinned eagerly.

Smiling, Gemini hugged her as well, "Hey, Lyra."

"Gem," Leo called out, "I heard Max was Head Boy this year."

"Yeah," Gemini nodded her head, "He owled me to find out if I knew who Head Girl was."

"What did he say when you told him it was you?"

"Nothing really, he just sent a reply back saying that I better not get him into trouble this year. I thought you were going to get the position?"

"Nah, I didn't want it. I made captain of the Quidditch team, and being Head Boy would've conflicted with it."

Gemini rolled her eyes, "You Malfoy blokes and your Quidditch."

"That's_ someone's_ fault," Tonya stated, glaring at her husband. "He just _had _to buy all the kids a broom before they could walk."

"Oi!" Draco defended himself, "That was the deal, love. If our first child is a boy then all our kids learn how to fly before learning how to walk."

Rolling her eyes, Tonya began to tug on the black and yellow colored pendent around her neck, "Well at least I got something right with our bets," looking over at the amused Gemini, she said, "Never make a deal with a wizard, Gemini, especially a _Malfoy_ wizard. They cheat."

"Oi, our firstborn was a Hufflepuff, can't you just be happy about that?"

Scorpius snorted, "Gee, Mum, it's good to know I was just a source of all sorts of bets between you and Dad."

"Of course, darling," Tonya grinned back and winked at her oldest son, "But don't feel too bad. We're depending on your sister more."

"I told you, she's going to be in Slytherin. I was right about having an army of Malfoy kids, we had the six boys first and then the one girl, and now she's going to be in Slytherin."

Lyra's face blanched and she stuck her tongue out in disgust, "I don't want to be in Slytherin, Daddy, I want to be in Gryffindor like Draco and Lupis."

Seeing the tears threatening to fall from her husband's eyes, Tonya shook her head, "Boys, why don't you guys go put your trunks on the train."

"We'll help," Gemini and Scorpius both said.

Standing alone, Tonya leaned against her husband. The bastard did it – he somehow jinxed it to give them seven kids; six boys and one girl. She didn't mind that though; she loved all of her kids. And they all turned out to be wonderful. Scorpius was even training with Viktor Krum to replace him as Seeker on the Bulgarian Quidditch team. Scorpius would be playing at the World Cup in just a year, as a matter of fact. It did help Tonya to feel better to know that she got some of her bets right as well – Scorpius was placed into Hufflepuff, Leo and Phoenix were in Ravenclaw, Draco and Lupis were in Gryffindor, and Orion was in Slytherin – much to everyone's amusement. He was named after two Gryffidors, yet he was the only Malfoy to be placed into the house of his ancestors. Tonya had no doubt that Lyra would follow after Draco and Lupis. She was always pushing her limits with her dad, knowing that she was his princess and she could get away with anything. The best part of having a daughter was when she stomped into Draco's office one morning while he was in there with Lucius, and she demanded that she start wearing bras since she's old enough. Tonya thought Draco and Lucius were about to literally have heart attacks. She called in the entire Order to help save them.

With his hair down to his back in a long silvery white ponytail, Draco looked just as he did when she first met him – the time in this future. Dressed comfortably in muggle jeans and a nice collared shirt, Draco watched as his six sons all helped their sister lift her trunk onto the train. Holding his wife in his arms, he smiled down at beautiful person she still remained to be. It was after Orion was born that Tonya finally decided to stop dying her hair in all sorts of colors. At thirty-nine years old, she now had her original black hair falling just pass her shoulders in thick waves, while dressed comfortably in a pair of black jean shorts and a simple yellow top. In her ears were the emerald earrings that Draco brought her when Orion got into Slytherin, on her right ring finger was the ruby colored ring from when Draco got into Gryffindor, while her right wrist was wrapped with the ruby diamond bracelet from when Lupis was placed into Gryffindor, and her left wrist had the blue diamond bracelet from when Phoenix was put into Ravenclaw and the bronze bracelet from when Leo was placed into Ravenclaw. Around her neck was the Hufflepuff colored diamond necklace from when her first son went to Hogwarts. That was the first bet she had ever won against Draco, and she never took that necklace off from the moment that Draco gave it to her.

"What are you thinking about?" Draco asked, seeing the glint in his wife's eyes.

"Which piece of the set you're going to buy for me I'm going to wear," she answered honestly, with a slight smirk. "I've already got a Gryffindor ring and bracelet on. I think I want a charm bracelet this time, babe. I want a gold charm bracelet with a ruby charm to represent each of our children."

Rolling his eyes, Draco sighed, "A silver charm bracelet with emerald colored charms sounds lovely."

"I would laugh my arse off so hard if she ended up in Hufflepuff."

Turning around to scowl at Harry, Tonya pouted, "No – I have waited nearly twenty-one years for this moment. Lyra's going into Gryffindor."

"You should never question a mother's intuition, love," Ginny chuckled, entering the scene.

Looking around, Draco cocked an eyebrow, "Where's the kids?"

"James is helping Paige with her trunk," Harry darkly muttered.

Tonya smiled fondly, "Oh, come on Harry, I think it's cute that James is dating Paige."

"Easy for you to say, your son isn't dating a Jordan."

Rolling her eyes, Ginny slapped her husband's head. "Shut up, Harry. I happen to think Paige is a lovely girl. And Lee is your friend."

"Harry, are you still pissed that Paige beat James for the Seeker position?"

When Harry muttered something underneath his breath, Draco started to laugh. Ignoring her cackling husband, Tonya spotted the redheaded twelve year old girl giggling at something the caramel colored boy with bright green eyes was saying. Elbowing Ginny to get her attention, the two friends started to smile.

"Why are you two smiling?" Harry suddenly asked them.

Sighing, Ginny kept her smile on her face, "I think Lily and Aaron will be cute together, don't you?"

"Aaron?" Harry's darkened look returned to him, "Aaron Thomas?"

Tonya nodded her head, "Doesn't it remind you a bit of Hermione and Ron? Two best friends in love without knowing it. How long do you think it'll be before they realize it?"

"Well it took Dom and Max about five years," Draco said unperturbed. "But it did take Hermione and Ron about seven years, so who knows?"

"None," Harry suddenly said, "It will take none years because it won't happen. My Lily Flower is not going to date ever."

"That doesn't even make sense, Harry," Tonya rolled her eyes, "And I seem to recall Bill making that same statement with both his daughters. But look at Vic; she and Teddy are engaged, and Dom and Max make a cuter couple than Draco and I ever could."

"It's Dean!" Harry hissed out, "His bloody sons are corrupting our daughters. At least Larry's okay."

"I'm pretty sure that the muggle girl that Larry's engaged to has a father out there somewhere," Ginny pointed out.

"It's those bloody Thomas boys!"

Laughing, Tonya shook her head. "Oh, look, there's Arianna and Angelina."

Standing side by side were the Weasley twins' wives. They made such a lovely sight when together, which was always, that everyone always stopped to stare at them. Angelina was dark with dark hair and dark eyes, whereas Arianna was light, with light hair, and light eyes, yet a light seemed to shine whenever they were together. Being forced together because of their husbands, the two quickly became best of friends. They were hardly ever separated, and even gave birth to their sons on the same day. They were in the same room, and Angelina gave birth only a minute before Arianna. Fred and George were pleased, and everyone else was frightened. Fred Fabian Weasley was born to Angelina and George Weasley at 1:01am on the first of April, 2003. George Gideon Weasley was born to Arianna and Fred Weasley at 1:02am on the first of April, 2003. They were born on their fathers' birthdays, and they even had to go and be nearly identical. Fred and George were both pale like their dad's, had the Weasley hair, and seemed to be covered in freckles, but it was their eyes that helped to tell them apart – Fred had his mum's brown eyes, while George took the blue eyes from both his parents.

"Chantel!" seeing the tall and slender witch with the Weasley red hair, Orion left his siblings and ran across the station to his girlfriend of a year. He smiled up at Arianna and Angelina, "Hullo, Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Weasley."

Laughing, Arianna fondly shook her head at her daughter's boyfriend, "Hullo, Orion."

"I see you made Prefect this year," Angelina grinned, "It's like you Malfoys are trying to take over Hogwarts."

Grinning, Orion nodded his head, "That's what Mum said. Dad still doesn't see how I could be made Prefect though. He thinks that McGonagall's gone senile."

"And you are Draco's son," Angelina rolled her eyes.

"I'm Prefect too!" Chantel beamed proudly, flashing the badge that she had pinned to the front of her dress. "Dad nearly had a heart attack. He's ashamed of me."

"No he isn't," Arianna tried to assure her daughter. "He had 'ze same reaction when you got into Slytherin, and started dating a Malfoy, but he'll be fine in a week."

"No," Angelina shook her head, "George had the same reaction when he found out Roxy turned down the chance to play with Bulgaria. Quidditch and breaking rules are the two things our bloody husbands care about most in the world."

Smirking, Chantel looked at her mum and aunt, "Then I know how to make Dad and Uncle George talk to us again. I'm going to owl Roxy."

"Don't do anything foolish, Chantel Arianna Weasley!"

"Of course not, Maman."

Shaking his head at his girlfriend's antics, Orion quickly made his way back to his parents. He saw Hermione and Ron standing with them this time too. "I'm going to go on the train already," he said, "Chantel is going to owl something to Roxy, and it's scaring her mum. She's planning on freaking her dad and George out."

"We've got to go and start doing rounds to make sure everyone is alright, too," Leo quickly said.

Nodding her head, Gemini turned to Scorpius, "I've got to say goodbye to Teddy."

"Let me say bye to everyone then I'll meet you by the train."

Soon all the Malfoy boys were saying goodbye to their parents. Lyra stayed back with them because she was waiting for her own friends to come, and she watched as her mum hugged and kissed all of her brothers, while even her dad pulled them all into hugs. Scorpius hugged her goodbye the tightest and told her to have fun but not too much because then he would leave training to come and see what she was doing. Standing between Hermione and her mum, Lyra heard somebody running towards them and she grinned when she saw who it was.

"Hugo!" she called out, opening her arms for him to hug her like they always did.

"Hey, Lyra!" he beamed, "I would've came by earlier but Aria needed me to help her escape from Uncle Seamus and Uncle Blaise; they keep crying about the baby leaving for school already. Aiden had to leave for Prefect duties, Dante is doing something with the twins, and Holly left once she saw the tears."

"Hugo, what did you do?" Hermione cocked an eyebrow at her son.

Flashing his guilty smile, Hugo started to scratch at his brown strands, "Nothing."

"We need to go now," Lyra said, holding tightly onto Hugo's hand.

Draco's eyes narrowed when he saw the connection, "Oi! Why are you holding his hand?"

"Because he's my best friend, Daddy."

Laughing as he thought back to Draco teasing him about Lily and Aaron, Harry turned to him, "Not so fun when it's your own daughter, eh?"

"No," Draco shook his head, yanking his daughter's hand and pulling her firmly against his chest, "Nope, I change my mind. You'll be homeschooled. I'll teach you Defense, your mum will teach you Muggle Studies, and Grandmum Narcissa can teach you everything else."

"But, Daddy…"

"No, Lyra Anne, I mean it. You're not going to school. Tonya, we'll meet you in the car."

Rolling her eyes, Tonya gently tugged her daughter away from her insane husband, "Draco, stop acting like a mental patient. Lyra, love, tell your dad that you love him and then run away once you get the chance."

"Traitor!" Draco hissed at his amused wife.

Hugging her dad tightly, Lyra looked up at him with her big eyes and she smiled. "I love you, Daddy."

Sighing, Draco hugged her back. "I'll buy you eleven unicorns."

"Daddy," she laughed.

"Thirty unicorns? How about a nice big castle? I'll buy you a nice big castle that has a high tower in it, and-"

"Draco!" Tonya hissed.

Looking into his daughter's eyes, Draco sighed. Holding her tightly he kissed her forehead, "I love you too, baby girl!"

"I'll owl you tonight," she promised him.

Hearing the train's whistle, Hugo pulled away from his own parents, and grabbed onto Lyra's hand, "C'mon Lyra, Aria and Carson are waiting for us in a compartment. We've got to find them."

"I love you Mum," Lyra said, hugging her mum goodbye. Quickly hugging all of the adults still standing there, she felt her dad tug her once more. "Daddy," she whined, "I'm going to miss the train, and then Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley will have to fly me and Hugo in the car. I don't want us to be the only ones to ride in a car to school."

Rolling his eyes, Draco bared his teeth at the eleven year old boy still tugging on his daughter, and he pulled her into a hug once more, "You better get into Slytherin or I'll disown you. And stop hanging out with that boy – he's a Weasley."

"Oi!" Ron shouted.

Laughing, Lyra ran after Hugo, waving back at everybody. "I love you guys! Bye!"

Sitting on the couch in Grimmauld Place, Tonya had her feet on Scorpius's lap. Teddy and Victoire were curled up on a chair across from them, and Roxanne was playing a game of Exploding Snaps with Tonks. Sirius and Remus were sitting on the couch next to the mother and son, while Draco was sitting on a chair by himself. Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Luna were all there as well. Even Bill and Fleur showed up.

"Did it come yet?" Blaise asked, walking into the living room.

Shaking her head, Roxanne moved so Seamus could sit down next to her, "It should be here soon though."

"Did we miss it yet?"

Looking up, Tonya laughed when she saw Fred, George, Angelina, and Arianna all run into the room. "Wow, I don't seem to remember it ever being this crowded for all of the other sortings."

"Well, these are the babies," Charlie chuckled, stepping into the room from the fireplace.

Looking up at his older brother, Ron scoffed, "You just want to see who wins the bet."

"Bloody Weasleys…"

Seeing Blaise's confusion at Draco's statement, Tonks rolled her eyes, "You know how we all have bets on Lily and Aaron?"

"Yeah."

"Well the new bet is now on Lyra and Hugo," Bill snorted.

Tonya and Hermione both rolled their eyes. "One day we will stop betting on our children," Ginny sighed wistfully.

Hearing the scuffling of wings, everyone jumped up. Sirius beat everyone to it, and started passing out the envelopes. "To Draco and Tonya, to Hermione and Ron, to Blaise and Seamus, and to Fred and George."

"Us?" Fred and George said at the same time, "We don't have a kid in first year," they both turned to their wives in unison, "Do we?"

Rolling her eyes, Angelina smirked, "Yes, George, we have an eleven year old child. Where the hell have you been?"

"'Ow could you 'ave forgotten all about little Zara, Fred?" Arianna pouted her lips at her husband.

Snickering, Ginny turned away from her brothers who were actually trying to remember if they had another kid they forgot all about. "Tonya and Draco opens theirs last. One of you guys go first."

Seamus and Blaise opened their note first and grinned; they now had a child in each house. Aiden was first in Slytherin, then Dante in Ravenclaw, Holly was in Hufflepuff, and now Aria was in Gryffindor. Hermione and Ron went next, grinning when they saw that their son was in their old house along with their daughter, and everybody watched the last couple with bated breath. Scorpius jumped up and snatched the letter away, fearing that his parents would lie just to win the bet. Everybody watched as he quickly scanned the letter.

Grinning, he suddenly looked up at his waiting parents, "Mum, Lyra wants to know if she has a vault on the side seeing as how she's no longer a Malfoy," Draco groaned when he realized his daughter wasn't in Slytherin.

"Wait, that doesn't mean she's in Gryffindor," Remus pointed out, "Keep reading, Scorpius."

Scorpius tried to hold back his laughter when he said, "Dad, Lyra also says that Mum looks lovely in gold and rubies, and you should buy her some more."

"YES!" Tonya shouted out in glee. "I knew it, my baby's a Gryffindor!"

Draco groaned, but everybody could see the pride in his eyes at hearing that he now had three children in the house of the brave. "So a gold charm bracelet with ruby charms to represent each kid, you said?"

"Yep," leaning over the couch, Tonya kissed her husband gently on the lips, "Keep it simple will you, babe. Nothing extravagant."

The room soon fell into excited gossip about what McGonagall was going to go through this year. All of their children turned out to be just like them, and it didn't help that Luna's twins decided to be weird like her, brave like Neville, stupid like Gryffindors, sneaky like Slytherins, and best friends with Orion Malfoy and Dante Finnigan. McGonagall hated this generation of kids, and it pleased all of the parents to no end. Everyone was just laughing about something that Sirius was doing when they heard the sudden shrieking sound.

"What?" Draco jumped up, holding his wand out.

Scorpius did the same, pushing his mum behind him, while everyone else all did the same as well, "What happened?"

Fred's eyes were wide and George was gaping at a smirking Roxanne, "Pregnant? Our – our little girls both… pregnant!" Fred turned to Draco and glared, "I'll kill you bloody Malfoys!"

"What?" Draco was confused. His son wasn't stupid enough to knock up Chantel, was he? Suddenly he groaned – it was Orion, of course he was. "This is all your bloody fault, Black. You too, Tonya – oh, let's name him after Sirius! That's the last time I leave you in charge of naming the kids!"

"Hah!" Roxanne smirked, folding her arms over her chest, "Looks like you don't disown us after all do you. You'd both do well to remember this incident the next time you decide to act like idiots because Chantel and I want to do something with our lives!"

Dropping his jaw as his daughter walked out of the room, George groaned, "Why couldn't our kids just be simple?"

**So I think I want to cry now! It's all pau. My baby is complete now! I hope you guys liked it though! Was this epilogue worth it? Was it worth an epilogue? I chose the names that you guys voted for. Scorpius had the most votes, and then it went down in that order. I also added Lyra in myself because I just think it's a cute name, and it keeps with the constellations. What do you think about Tonks and Remus having another child? I always thought they would have if they lived, and I like to think that Remus passed on his werewolf genes but that the child could still be happy – and now she's happy with Scorpius(: because I didn't have Scorpius and Rose being the same age, I made Lyra with Hugo – that part pleases me to no end, actually. Draco's reaction cracks me up! What about the bets? The 7 kids, the 6 boys and 1 girl at the end, the whole thing?**

**So this is it guys! I just want to say thank you to all of you who have read, followed, favorited, reviewed, and just enjoyed this story in general! I want to especially thank those of you that had followed this story from the moment I uploaded the very first chapter, and those of you that have stumbled upon this story since then! I appreciate all of you, and I love all of you, and oh Merlin I'm actually crying now!**

**Just, thank all of you so much! I hope you've all enjoyed this! Happy New Years, seeing as how tomorrow's the eve (well for me at least) I hope to see all of you guys again!**

I started this story on 10-2-11 and I finished it on 12-30-12!

323 pages!

177,824 words!

31 chapters!


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